⚽️ ⚽️ Paris Saint-Germain 2, Troyes 0 ⚽️ ⚽️
Not the rosy, pleasant news this time around for Paris Saint-Germain that it was the last few weeks.
The big showdown against Real Madrid, what was viewed as a real test for PSG, wound up being a disappointment to the team and their supporters. PSG might be the class of Ligue 1 play in France, but it is not quite ready to take on the true elites of European football.
At least not yet.
My brother explained the game actually rather well. He is a follower of this blog page, and in the comment section for the previous PSG game (when PSG defeated Troyes, 2-0), he posted this commentary about PSG's disappointing results against Real Madrid yesterday:
The big showdown against Real Madrid, what was viewed as a real test for PSG, wound up being a disappointment to the team and their supporters. PSG might be the class of Ligue 1 play in France, but it is not quite ready to take on the true elites of European football.
At least not yet.
My brother explained the game actually rather well. He is a follower of this blog page, and in the comment section for the previous PSG game (when PSG defeated Troyes, 2-0), he posted this commentary about PSG's disappointing results against Real Madrid yesterday:
Some Guy in JerseyMarch 6, 2018 at 4:00 PM Sigh... Real Madrid 2, PSG 1, with Madrid winning 5 to 2 on aggregate. This series was full of "if onlys": if only PSG had managed to defend well enough in the last 10 minutes or so of the first leg to secure the 1-1 draw, if only Danny Alves hadn't rendered himself guilty of a careless pass that ultimately led to Real's first goal in the return leg, if only Marco Verratti hadn't foolishly gotten in the ref's face, which resulted in a second yellow card (and therefore red). And of course, what if PSG had avoided having to face such a daunting opponent relatively early in the tournament. But the inescapable fact of the matter is that they're simply not ready for prime time. They've got a ways to go until they can compete with teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or other major clubs on equal terms. If you didn't watch, you didn't miss much.
That last sentence was in reference to my own stated desire for watching the match, although I did not, because I was working both of my jobs.
However, this seems like a good summary of what was a frustrating game, at least for PSG fans. Obviously, the legions of Real Madrid fans are happy. Real Madrid rank among the bullies, if you will, of European football, along with FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Juventus, and maybe one or two others that are not immediately coming to mind. Chelsea, maybe, for example.
For comparisons with North American sports, think of the New York Yankees in baseball, or the Boston Celtics and especially the Los Angeles Lakers in basketball, or the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Green Bay Packers in American football, or the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings in hockey. So, this was not exactly a shocker. But it would have been really nice had PSG been able to produce a shocking upset. After all, everyone seems to like when an underdog actually wins. Look how happy the Philadelphia Eagles made so many people following their Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots last month.
Alas, mistakes plagued PSG. A bad draw. A collapse in the last ten minutes in the first game doomed what had been, up to that point, a commendable effort. A bad or careless pass early in this game allowed Real Madrid to jump out ahead with that all-important first goal. A frustrated player unable to keep his cool, and earning his own ejection from the game, hurt PSG's hopes of a comeback. Whether or not you are familiar with football, or soccer, at all, or even sports, those are the kinds of mistakes and mental errors that everyone knows will doom your hopes of winning, regardless of the sport or game. Careless mistakes, lapses, allowing emotions to run too high, and clearly frustrated expectations, in all.
Just for the record, let me sum up the scoring. Star Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 51st minute for Real Madrid, although Edinson Cavini was able to tie it twenty minutes laster. However, Marco Verratti's ejection in the 66th minutes did not help matters for PSG, and Casemiro scoring in the 80th minute for Real Madrid proved to be the final nail in PSG's coffin in this game.
That is how PSG's hopes in the Champions League came to an abrupt end in yesterday's game. All of that relatively uninterrupted success against other teams in Ligue 1 was not enough to bolster PSG's confidence enough to overcome one of the most stories franchises in the sport. Real Madrid moves on, as always, while PSG goes home much earlier than expected.
One thing seems certain: their Spanish coach, Unai Emery, is going to get the boot at the conclusion of this season. He replaced former coach (and one of the stars of Les Bleus when they won the World Cup and the Euro in 1998 and 2000) Laurent Blanc, the idea being that he was better equipped than Blanc to lead PSG to the promised land. Well, so much for that. I'm not saying that Laurent Blanc would necessarily have had more impressive results if he'd remained at the helm, but Unai Emery had had ample opportunity to prove himself by now, and the results just aren't there. Dominating modest French clubs like Guingamp and Angers (or even comparatively stronger ones like Marseille, Monaco and Lyon) isn't enough. On a brighter note, two of those clubs I just mentioned – Marseille and Lyon – are still contending for European titles this season, albeit not the Champions League, which is the most prestigious club competition in Europe, but the Europa League, which is prestigious but less so. I'm hoping at least one of them can make a deep run. We'll see.
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