PSG produce stunning comeback against Atalanta
A mental block utterly shattered for Paris Saint-Germain, heartbreak for Atalanta. That is the only way to
put it. The images said enough, as Atalanta couldn’t quite do enough. There is no shame in that, but there is a lot of pain and a lot of cruelty.
Three minutes of perseverance from PSG transformed this game, and may have transformed the club in the Champions League. They are into the semi-finals for the first time since 1995, and the first time in this Qatari era, after a remarkable late turnaround to beat Atalanta 2-1.
It was another chaotically entertaining climax to go with so many in the competition over the past few years. PSG are for once utterly elated it involved them actually going through rather than collapsing.
And yet for all the visible joy in that, it would have been nothing compared to the emotions Atalanta were on the brink of experiencing. Mario Pasalic was on the brink of going down in club history, and putting them into the Champions League semi-finals. Their city of Bergamo, which has suffered so much throughout the coronavirus, can only be proud. This little club really put it up to one of the most lavishly funded football projects on the planet.
And yet for all the stars PSG have, for all the talent, for all the contrasts between the clubs, look at what they ultimately relied upon. The equaliser was the scruffiest of efforts from centre-half Marquinhos. The winner was from substitute Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
Neymar’s brilliant influence in both should be acknowledged. He stepped up. That is all the more important given what was really weighing PSG down.
What really elevates the Champions League is how the intensity of these ties is further infused with so much history. With PSG, that history has been one of emotional trauma and losing their nerve, and it was impossible not to think it weighed on every single move.
That could be sensed with the first big moment of the game, after just three minutes. Neymar did superbly to scorch through, only to do atrociously and shank it wide. It wasn’t just the miss but how bad the miss was. That didn’t point to clarity of thinking, which was indicative of Neymar’s erratic overall performance. The entire bench, including Kylian Mbappe had their hands on their heads. It was as if they knew this was more than early miss.
For a club like this, with a history in the competition like this, in a match where they had so much to lose, it was exactly what they wouldn’t want to happen. Doubt was fostered, to add to the trauma of the past. That only grew with Keylor Navas’ save from Hans Hatebour.
Atalanta were building. Something was coming. And it was something very special. On 27 minutes, Duvan Zapata eked out space on the edge of the box to steer the ball through to Palasic, who curled the ball beyond
Navas and into the top corner. The soaring flight of the ball reflected the emotions around the club.
For Atalanta, the dream was no longer something they were imagining. It was happening. For PSG, the nightmare was no longer something they were fearing. It was happening. That contrast, and those stakes, further electrified the game.
PSG were thereafter hesitant and nervous. They were badly struggling with the extent of Atalanta’s pressing, but also just making unforced errors. That was never more evident than when Marquinhos almost just swivelled on the ball with 10 yards of space around him, or when Neymar blazed his second big chance wide.
The great frustration for Thomas Tuchel, and the contradiction, was that his tactical approach was arguably working. PSG were creating a lot of chances from using Atalanta’s press against them and just lofting balls over the top. The collective approach was just let down by individual errors, either by dispossession or finishing. It was still to prove telling. Neymar personified the issue. There was a lot he was actually doing brilliantly.
If PSG were not at their best, mind, it did mean the game soon reached that kind of epic stage where every touch reveals the players are fully aware how much is on the line. There was that angst to everything PSG did, that defiance to everything Atalanta attempted.
Tuchel naturally brought on Kylian Mbappe as soon as advice suggested he could – with half an hour to go. The French star began to puncture holes in the Atalanta backline. The moment eventually came. Neymar showed his class and controlled, Marquinhos forced it home. Atalanta were finally broken. Soon, hearts were broken, as Choupo-Moting scored.
PSG finally know what it feels like, and will finally know what playing in a semi-final feels like.