Verratti sees red as the PSG dream goes up in smoke
PARIS Saint-Germain’s Champions League aspirations went up in smoke for another season as Cristiano Ronaldo sent Real Madrid into the quarterfinals at their expense.
There had been firecrackers outside Madrid’s hotel the night before the game and there were flares behind the goal throughout. The only place PSG lacked firepower was on the pitch.
And rising out of a smoke-filled goalmouth five minutes into the second half was Ronaldo, to head in Lucas Vazquez’s cross. He had flirted with a move to the Parc des Princes in the summer and here he was dominating in Paris, but still wearing the white shirt of Madrid.
PSG seized the early initiative but they were a blancmange at the back and Sergio Ramos nearly put Real ahead on the night only for Alphonso Areola to smother his shot from six yards out.
Without the injured Neymar, the weight of PSG’s attacks lay on Kylian Mbappe’s 19-year-old shoulders. He curled one rightfoot shot just wide of Keylor Navas’s far post.
The home team’s attacks were anarchic and the final ball was often misplaced. Angel di Maria’s energy was at least keeping Madrid on the back foot and when Mateo Kovacic scythed him down on the right he went into referee Felix Brych’s book.
Di Maria then got the better of Marcelo but when he crossed there was no PSG player in the six-yard box to finish.
Eight minutes before half-time Areola had to save PSG again. Karim Benzema got clear of a badly positioned Marquinhos, but Areola blocked his shot, and it looped out for a corner.
Zinedine Zidane’s decision to leave Gareth Bale on the bench again will have pushed the Welshman a little closer to the exit. The decision was rooted in Zidane’s belief that Marco Asensio offers more protection to Marcelo, but the left back was completely exposed three minutes before half-time and PSG should have led. Mbappe went past Marcelo and Edinson Cavani was waiting in the six-yard box to be served the ball for a tap-in. But PSG showed that even without Neymar they are capable of each man playing for himself and Mbappe ignored Cavani and shot from the tightest of angles, giving Navas a straightforward save at his near post.
Ronaldo headed wide from Marcelo’s cross at the restart but then made the breakthrough. Asensio made the incisive run, but had to double back when blocked. He kept his head and played in Lucas Vazquez, who crossed to the back post. As soon as Ronaldo rose to meet the ball it was only going to end in one place — the corner of Areola’s goal.
UEFA will ask PSG why so many flares made their way into the ground. PSG president Nasser AlKhelaifi will be asking a different question: who will replace Unai Emery in the summer?
Emery looked more lost than ever on 65 minutes when Marco Verratti was sent off for shouting into referee Brych’s face and picking up a second booking.
Cavani deserved his late goal, bizarre though it was. Ramos’s clearance hit the Uruguayan’s knee and trickled into goal.
Casemiro then shot through a crowded box after Rabiot’s clearance went straight to him. The ball clipped Marquinhos and beat Areola to complete a humilating evening for PSG. PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (4-3-3): Areola 7; Alves 6, Marquinhos 5, Thiago Silva 6, Berchiche 6; Verratti 6, Motta 5 (Pastore 59min, 6), Rabiot 6; Di Maria 6 (Draxler 76), Cavani 6, Mbappe 6 (Diarra 85). Subs not used: Trapp, Kimpembe, Meunier, Lo Celso. Scorer: Cavani 71. Booked: Verratti, Cavani. Sent off: Verratti. Manager: Unai Emery 5. REAL MADRID (4-4-2): Navas 7; Carvajal 7, Ramos 7, Varane 7, Marcelo 6; Lucas Vazquez 8, KOVACIC 8.5 (Kroos 71, 6), Casemiro 7, Asensio 6 (Isco 82); Benzema 6 (Bale 76), Ronaldo 7. Subs not used: Nacho, Modric, Casilla, Hernandez. Scorers: Ronaldo 51, Casemiro 80. Booked: Kovacic, Ramos. Manager: Zinedine Zidane 7. Referee: Felix Brych (Germany) 7. Attendance: 46,585.