I am sure you all know by now that PSG has been bumped from the Champions League by Real Madrid. It was an interesting turn of events and given the 1-0 lead PSG was taking into the match, I tuned in for this one. (The Man City Match was already a 5-0 first leg)

A tail of self-collapse is all I can say. Up 2-0 in aggregate at the half, PSG looked pretty comfortable. Real had some breaks here and there but it was not sustained pressure and PSG dealt with chances well enough.

UNTIL....... Gigi made an absolute mess of things in the back, taking way too long to play a ball out, which turned into a Real Madrid goal. In the keepers defense, I think another ref would have called a foul on Benzema, but not this ref! This swung momentum big time, and PSG never matched the renewed intensity.

Benzema scored again on a through ball that the PSG defense swore he was offsides and basically stopped marking him. Gigi might have saved it, but the defender slid in to block and caught a ricochet, changing the flight of the ball.

Benz's hat trick can just a half minute later after PSG went completely to sleep in the back, passing the ball into the middle of their own 18, only to see Benz get his foot on it first, one-touch bottom right corner.

I have read that Neymar and Gigi almost got into a fight in the dressing room, with Neymar blaming Gigi for the loss. Again, while it was Gigi who should have just booted the ball clear, at least he had some argument on being fouled over what the rest of the team showed.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Benzema gets three and Modric shows he is still a world-class center mid!

Mbappe did score three times but only one counted.........

All those fantastic players and yet a team PSG is still not!

The usual PSG exit. I’ve honestly got used to it.🙄😒

However… I also think people underestimated real madrid a bit.

Keylor Navas is smiling somewhere

But how tf do you lose like that? This is getting embarrassing now for PSG tbh

You wonder how?

Just look at how they lost to Barca in that (in)famous comeback some years ago. It is as if it all started then.

I didn't believe it even at 1-1, I coudln't believe PSG would collapse like that, but that's another proof that discipline, high pressing and constant attacks always destabilize the enemy team.

To Pelle's point, a lot didn't give Real Madrid a chance, even perhaps when they saw the pairing, given Messi, Neymar, ect...

Then, when down 2-0 agg. it was like a foregone conclusion. Footy is crazy sometimes and you can never count out top teams, no matter their current form or personnel.

PSG needs to look at themselves hardcore, in the dressing room, at each other, and have some accountability.

I think this just confirmed Mbappe faith to Madrid next season, glad Real went through.

Pelle

Just look at how they lost to Barca in that (in)famous comeback some years ago. It is as if it all started then.

You're right but I would've thought that PSG learnt from their lessons. I don't really watch Ligue 1, but from what I've been following, I kind of got the vibe that PSG's season was trending upwards performances wise, whereas Real Madrid's was trending the other way. Obviously I was wrong on the former, but for PSG to concede 3 goals like that was terrible. The timing of it didn't help either because they couldn't do anything about it.

I don’t think it has to do with ”learning the lesson”… I think it could be psychological thing. A ghost that keeps hunting them every year and kreeps into the minds of the players. The pressure of having to be succesful, and absolutely not fail again, can devastate teams and players.

One factor that has lead to this situation is that PSG almost every season get very tough and unlucky draws. It feels like its always Bayern/Barca/Real madrid or a EPL champion they face early in the knockout stages. Two years ago when the draw was relatively ”easy” they reached the final.

So I think its a combonation of unfortunate circumstances that has lead to this, with the main reason being that it has become a psychological thing.

Sad to see the "fans" vandalize the training grounds and hear them boo only certain players. Footy at the highest level does have expectations and for PSG, winning CL was the face they put on.

Fun fact.... Not every world-class team has had a world-class best player in each position. There is a lot to be said about strategy, team-ball, each player pushing for each other.

Now Mbappe is heading out and if tabloids can be trusted, Neymar is going to be fired, and Messi will go back to Barca.

Doubt Neymar & Messi will be able to leave with their mega contracts

Madrid put through with the help of the ref once again, and psg get knocked out due to the ref helping their opponents again.

Seriously, though, PSG has so many structural problem that it really shouldn't come as too much surprise. Sure the invidual quality can save them at time but the fact they constantly sign new stars can also hinder them.

For example, playing with Messi, Neymar and M'bappe in this modern age of football were most team use all their players to defend make it hard for the balance. The problem for a manager at PSG is that he propably got pressure from higher-up to make those play.

It take time as well for new player to glue in in a team, yet PSG put player in key match against one of the most historically succesful club in the history of the CL.

Recently, it also felt like their answer for any problem has been to send long ball for Mbappe and pray that his pace make the difference. And yes, sometime it work but you need another reliable way to beat your opponent.

Another issue with PSG might be the city itself, I mean, there just so much to see and to do, if you ain't completely focused as a player, you might get tempted to party a lot at nightclubs instead of resting.

PSG isn't a bad team, it just a team that need to focus more on having long term project rather upgrading their brand by signing big names.

@Pelle I agree that it seem like there is a lot of pressure for the PSG players in the CL knockout legs, the fact that the whole team goal is basically to win the CL really musn't help. There's a few players who were shown to be quite a bit shaken by that pressure in fact. Neymar being one of them.

@DarthFooty Would be interesting to see if the direction actually decide to get rid of Neymar, heard rumours of that but I believe its still too early to tell.

@quikzyyy Pretty sure that if M'bappe hadn't sign a new contract with PSG (which I don't believe he did), this will have convince him not to renew. I believe the whole reason he joined PSG was to try and win something more than Ligue 1, when you score 2 goals for your team over 2 knockout games but it still manage squander the lead you gave them in about 20 minutes, its normal for a player to stop trusting them.

Pretty sure one of the reason Nasser was so mad against the ref was actually the fact that the results would make it nearly impossible to extend M'bappe.

Welcome back Emobot7!

@DarthFooty Thanks mate, stuff happened in my life which gave me less time for the forum but I have been following the discussions going on from time to time. Just didn't have the time nor the motivation for participating in them up until yesterday. Anyway, will try to be a bit more active but I can't promise much, still have a lot going on right now. Good talking to you though.