REAL TEACH PSG A LESSON
While Real Madrid came good when it mattered the most, PSG’s multi-millionaires succumbed under the pressure to once again crash out of the Champions League last-16 stage. With Los Blancos teaching the Parisians a lesson in how it’s done, here’s a look at the talking points from the match:
RONALDO TO THE FORE
At the start of the season, Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to have been done and dusted, but over the two legs against PSG, he proved that he is far from finished. He first silenced his critics with his twin strikes at the Bernabeu to earn Real a 3-1 first-leg win. The header to open the scoring in Paris practically put the match out of PSG’s grasp. It was also his 117th Champions League goal that extended his record.
ZIDANE’S GAMBLE PAYS OFF
Zinedine Zidane (below) opted again to bench Luka Modric and Toni Kroos from the start after recent injuries, instead naming Mateo Kovacic and Casemiro in central midfield, with Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez on the wings. While Kovacic did well in the midfield to break PSG’s attacks, the two wide players — Asensio and Vazquez — were particularly impressive, playing important roles in each goal.
HOST MISSED NEYMAR
The absence of Neymar, PSG's main player, weighed heavily on a team that looked short on attacking ideas without their Brazilian magician waving his wand.
When PSG needed him most, and in exactly the match he was bought to win, the 222-million-euro man was in Brazil recovering from a foot operation while others couldn’t muster up the performances needed to topple Real.
CAVANI SHOOTS BLANKS
Edinson Cavani became PSG's all-time top scorer this season but, against Real Madrid, the Uruguayan was toothless, with just a lucky bounce off his knee earning him a place on the score sheet at the Parc des Princes. When his personal goal tally is measured against Cristiano Ronaldo, the score over the two legs was 3-1 for the Portuguese World Player of the Year.
PSG IMPLODE AGAIN
In 2017, PSG blew a 4-0 lead from the first leg against Barcelona as they capitulated spectacularly at Camp Nou, losing 6-1.
This year they conceded two goals in Madrid when they had seemingly been heading for a 1-1 draw that would have given them a springboard for a second-leg victory.
The man who will inevitably wield the axe after the latest failure, club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, did not mince his words: "We know that Real have a lot of experience. We didn't do what we needed to do to win."