At the Parc des Princes,
The poster promised a great match, the respective form of the two teams a little less. Tuesday’s PSG-Real Madrid in the knockout stages of the Champions League gave birth to an interesting game and a daunting end. After having stumbled for 90 minutes on Thibaut Courtois, Kylian Mbappé delivered the Parc des Princes in stoppage time and offered victory to Paris (1-0).
Paris carried by its left lane
Joys of the return of the great European evenings. The Champions League anthem resounds again at the Parc des Princes, Mauricio Pochettino puts on a suit for the first time in a year, PSG have a game plan for the first time in three centuries, Angel Di Maria is pressing 300 meters into the void… As one might expect, the Parisians displayed a face that was the opposite of the weekly porridge served to Ligue 1 fans.
In the final phase of C1, the supporter eats Gucci. Under the impetus of the Mbappé-Mendes left lane – two Ferraris against the Fiat Punto Dani Carvajal, the more unbalanced you die – the Parisians have long made the Merengues look like a vulgar La Liga bottom team. Benzema stayed in Marquinhos’ pocket for half an hour, Casemiro was tricked by Paredes and took the yellow which deprived him of a return, Vinicius did not win a duel… In short, without a decisive Thibaut Courtois in front Mbappé and Danilo, Real went back to the locker room with two pawns in the suitcase.
A Grand Courtois
It is also appropriate to salute the performance of the Belgian goalkeeper, now well used to taking it seriously in our regions. Hosted in a hostile manner by the Auteuil bend in the warm-up, the Real goalkeeper did not deflate. Better still, he stood for a very long time as the sole bulwark against numerous Parisian attempts, especially at the start of the second half, when Mendes (on a long shot) and Mbappé (we don’t count his missed opportunities) threatened the Madrid cage and when the Alaba-Militão hinge was taking on water. With the ultimate masterpiece, the decisive save on Lionel Messi’s penalty, which all of Paris had seen coming 50 kilometers away.
Messi depressing, Mbappé decisive
Not content with having already alienated the entire Park, the Argentinian added a layer of it a few minutes later by depriving Paredes of a strike in front of the surface out of pure selfishness. There was, however, before the meeting, the hope of witnessing the awakening of the multiple Ballon d’Or, transcended by a white jersey which has so often succeeded. Shit. Bad choices, more waste than in Danilo’s game and always this damn tendency to walk like Yohann Diniz, in short, a disaster.
As usual, the Parisian savior wore number 7. And what a marvel to conclude. In the slalom in tribute to Clément Noël, Kylian Mbappé went for the victory alone at the last minute, like the great he is. Proof that the French striker does not yet have his mind in Madrid.
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