Almost five years to the day after the terrible comeback, Paris Saint-Germain experienced a new disappointment in the Champions League on Wednesday March 9. The capital club was overthrown by Real Madrid in the round of 16 second leg (1-3) during an irrational evening. While leading 1-0 on the hour mark and winning the first leg (1-0), Mauricio Pochettino’s men collapsed and no one except Kylian Mbappé emerged unscathed from this footballing wreckage.
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 3/10
The question of the hierarchy of PSG goalkeepers had undoubtedly found an answer when the tenure of the Italian was confirmed. The big games are for him… except that Gianluigi Donnarumma played a key role in the sinking of his team. He offered the equalizer to Real Madrid on a plateau by delaying to revive (61st). He can’t do anything about Karim Benzema’s two other goals (76th, 78th). From then on, we will forget his sumptuous parade on the curled strike of the Frenchman in the first period (25th).
Ashraf Hakimi: 3/10
He gets the least bad mark from the Parisian defense because he has shown himself to be voluntary (six successful tackles, match record). But he lacked precision in his transmissions and never knew how to intervene on Vinicius Junior. Replaced by Julian Draxler (88th).
Marquinhos: 2/10
We had never seen him pass so much through an important match. The Brazilian spent the evening being beaten in all his duels with Karim Benzema, while multiplying unusual gestures, including an ill-inspired heel in his own area (27th). His image was immaculate. From now on, he will remain the lost captain of the Bernabéu sinking.
Presnel Kimpembe: 2.5/10
He was not as directly exposed as his captain was when the encounter swung. However, he also missed his match. There is even nothing to keep from his performance. In all areas, he did things halfway.
Nuno Mendes: 2.5/10
It had been better for several weeks. Nuno Mendes had made great promises, thanks to his ability to bring danger from his hallway. But the fears on his defensive level had never been swept away. The young Portuguese spent another Champions League evening moving in duels like a U17. He was unable to put his foot on the ball (like all his friends in the defense), except when he almost gave an assist to Karim Benzema (73rd).
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Danilo Pereira: 4/10
He is far from being the first responsible for the disaster, but he did not know how to plug the breaches as he had been able to do on the way out. Replaced by Angel Di Maria (80th) once the damage is suffered.
Marco Veratti: 4/10
Before the reversal of the situation, the Italian was already delivering a performance without frills, without lightness, and therefore unusual. Something was missing from his match, and it was he who was missing altogether when Paris sank.
Leandro Paredès: 4/10
He knew he was under the threat of a suspension and that did not prevent him from taking a yellow card for protesting after only six minutes of play. After a complicated start to the match, the Argentinian raised his head and played in the recovery of the ball on the Parisian goal. On the other hand, he came very close to expulsion but his sole on the ankle of Karim Benzema, under the eyes of the referee, did not earn him a second yellow card (67th). Replaced by Idrissa Gueye in stride (71st).
Lionel Messi: 3.5/10
Enterprising in the first period, heart of the Parisian highlight that lasted from the 15th minute to the hour mark, it inexplicably disappeared in the second act. At the final whistle, we wonder where the sixfold Golden Ball went. Where was he when the tide turned?
Kylian Mbappe: 7/10
What more can be said than what has already been said about it? Even when his team is disastrous, he continues to shine. As in the first leg, it was he who opened the scoring, in his favorite register, on a quick attack. Found in the back of the defense by Neymar from his own camp, he spun towards the goal and adjusted Thibaut Courtois in the closed angle against a David Alaba on the back (39th).
Kylian Mbappé even exulted twice more, but was caught by the VAR each time, first because of an offside by Nuno Mendes (35th) then by himself (54th). He had almost subdued Real Madrid on his own, but we will remember that it was probably his very last Champions League match with Paris. The void he will leave if he leaves this summer (to Madrid or elsewhere) is already palpable.
3 – Paris conceded 3 goals in 16 minutes and 41 seconds, a first in a Champions League match since March 8, 2017 against Barcelona (6-1). Reassembled. #RMAPSG pic.twitter.com/s0XpJppjji
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) March 9, 2022
Neymar: 4.5/10
It was believed that he had regained his role as guide for PSG in the knockout phase by being the decisive passer on Mbappé’s goal, in line with the two previous campaigns for the capital club (final then semi-final). But that wasn’t enough and his defensive efforts will fall into oblivion. In the foreground will remain his balloons lost by wanting to make the decision by dribbling or by taking too long to pass them on.
Mauricio Pochettino: ?/10
It is quite difficult to measure the share of the Argentinian technician in the failure of his team as the evening was irrational. His picks from the first leg rolled over and worked for nearly an hour, before his keeper’s unpredictable error changed the course of the game. We could blame him for not having replaced Leandro Paredes, who has long flirted with the red card, but Paris sank just after the exit of the Argentine midfielder (71st). In any case, he did not manage to find an answer to stop the bleeding.