The Champions League Round of 16 is officially underway. Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid played their first leg. Although the scoreless deadlock didn’t break until seconds before the game’s final whistle, Les Parisiens won convincingly. Kylian Mbappé netted a dagger score with just over a minute to go to put PSG up going into the second leg next month. PSG came into the game as the underdog due to their inability of playing and finishing strong against the big clubs. In addition, they were recently eliminated from the Coupe de France tournament. However, Real Madrid entered this game coming off a series of unconvincing results including being eliminated from the Copa del Rey tournament.
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KYLIAN MBAPPE. IN STOPPAGE TIME. WOW. 😳 pic.twitter.com/0YhxWgCnC8
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 15, 2022
PSG’s finish
At the start of the match, Les Parisiens didn’t waste any time taking and maintaining ball control and creating scoring chances. But Les Parisiens had difficulty putting the ball into the back of the net. Mbappé missed at least two golden opportunities to put his team on the board. Furthermore, in the 60th minute, PSG earned a penalty. Unfortunately, Lionel Messi failed to convert.
The biggest problem for PSG was their inability to position themselves correctly. In addition, their slow pace of play allowed Real Madrid’s defense to properly position themselves to thwart PSG’s threats and scoring chances. Les Parisiens were fortunate that Real Madrid couldn’t launch any scoring threats of their own. However, PSG wasn’t doing themselves any favors by failing to take advantage of Real Madrid’s weaknesses. Regardless of the shortcomings, PSG refused to let up and it eventually paid off. Mbappé was denied numerous times but eventually breached Real Madrid’s defense and was able to beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Real Madrid’s issues
Los Blancos made very little impact. The midfield was completely lost and disorganized and there’s was no front attack whatsoever. The defense was resilient with eleven clearances and interceptions. Courtois had eight saves but the lack of offensive support eventually doomed him along with Madrid’s defense. The Real Madrid attack failed to register any shots-on-goal. Karim Benzema came into this game coming off an injury. Although he didn’t have a strong performance, he didn’t appear to be suffering any ill effects throughout the game. Benzema started and was replaced in the 87th minute by Gareth Bale. Ferland Mendy and Casemiro will not be available in the second leg due to the yellow cards they both picked up in this game.
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