They didn’t know it was impossible, so they did it. The players of Paris-Saint-Germain have again pushed back the legend of a club recognized as a specialist in scuttling. Touched and well cast. After FC Barcelona and Manchester United, the proverbial Parisian generosity this time benefits Real Madrid, long overtaken, outclassed and almost resigned to the superiority of Kylian Mbappé’s partners.
But it was before the air hole of the hour of play. Eighteen minutes to ruin everything, eighteen minutes for an incredible hat-trick from Karim Benzema (61e76e and 78e), eighteen minutes to leave the Champions League in the round of 16 after this 3-1 defeat in the Santiago-Bernabeu stadium, the terminus of PSG’s ambitions this Wednesday, March 9.
At this level of amazement, the result sweeps everything away. The victory with style on the way out (1-0), as well as this perfect first half ridiculing at times Real, sad braggart selling hell to the Parisians in recent days, but who had only one unfortunate furia of five minutes at the start of the match to offer and supporters waving their scarves.
As at the Parc des Princes, Mbappé is going too fast, his shot with the right foot is still too precise after a bright opening from Neymar (39e). Until then, everything is self-evident, and we get lost in too many fine conjectures. We even say that the Parisian coach, Mauricio Pochettino, has found his typical team, him, this Arturo Brachetti of the match sheets, unable to line up the same one twice. The most daring even discern a “Pochettino style”. But that’s forgetting the primary nature of this team, this ability to always leave room for a “what if”.
Pochettino and “the fault that changed everything”
Its recent history speaks against it; PSG forces the imagination, the art of anticipating the grotesque. In this anthology of bad jokes, this 61e minute already has a place all found. Because a modern goalkeeper must restart short even under pressure, Gianluigi Donnarumma plays with fire in front of Karim Benzema and burns the tip of his right foot. The French against him, Vinicius follows and gives him the ball for the goal of hope, that of the awakening of Bernabeu, stadium under construction and lifeless like his team before this gift.
Mauricio Pochettino himself remained stuck at this 61e minute. “For me, Benzema’s action on Donnarumma is a foul and that changed everything”, denounced the Parisian coach at a press conference. The Argentinian evokes a ” big mistake “ and refuses in advance his forgiveness to the referee, Danny Makkelie. The images, however, do not confuse the Dutchman. “I’m not at all wrong. He waits, I urge him, he loses the ball.assured, for his part, Karim Benzema.
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