PSG stunned by ‘unspeakable’ UCL meltdown
Print Edition
THIS was supposed to be the year Paris Saint-Germain joined the European elite with a statement victory in the UEFA Champions League, yet the French champion fluffed its lines in spectacular fashion and was trampled in the dust by a Catalan juggernaut.
After swatting aside Barcelona 4-0 in an exhilarating first-leg display, an incredible meltdown in the latter stages of Wednesday’s return leg ended with the hosts marching triumphantly into the quarterfinals with a 6-5 aggregate win.
Qatar-backed PSG has invested heavily in a squad designed to compete at the highest level, yet once again it was found wanting against the very best and was eliminated by Barcelona in the knockout stages for the third time in five years.
The French side paid for its passive approach as Barcelona raced to a 3-0 lead before striker Edinson Cavani netted what appeared to be a decisive away goal mid-way through the second half to leave the hosts needing to score three more.
The visitors held on until the 88th minute but Barcelona simply refused to be denied and when Sergi Roberto prodded home the side’s third goal in a devastating 7-minute spell, PSG was left licking its wounds once more.
“I want to apologize to the fans,” said midfielder Marco Verratti, who had been instrumental in the first leg but was a pale shadow away. “We are ashamed.”
Sports daily L’Equipe needed just one word to sum up the capitulation with the headline “Unspeakable”.
The statistics do not make pretty reading as PSG completed just four passes, three of them kickoffs from the 85th.
PSG was furious that a theatrical Luis Suarez tumble was rewarded with a stoppage-time penalty that Neymar converted to put Barca within one goal of victory, but first-season coach Unai Emery said the game was lost elsewhere.
“The referee’s decisions were against us but this is not why we are eliminated,” the three-time Europa League-winning coach with Sevilla admitted.
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