Disintegration after CL knockout?
And again PSG is just the billionaire idiot
3/10/2022 7:16 am
What a show: Karim Benzema needs just over fifteen minutes to knock Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League. After his hat-trick, the captain celebrates with Real Madrid about reaching the quarter-finals. PSG, on the other hand, faces many questions.
The football evening in the legendary Estadio Santiago Bernabéu collapsed in the 61st minute. Real Madrid captain Karim Benzema had tackled Gianluigi Donnarumma, Paris St Germain’s expensive goalkeeper, forcing him into a disastrous mispass. He ended up with wide awake Vinicius Junior, from there again with Benzema and finally in goal. The Frenchman, who is probably the biggest phenomenon in the penalty area alongside Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland, scored 1-1 in the round of 16 second leg of these Champions League giants. Of course, nothing was turned for Real. In addition to both games, PSG was further ahead (2:1).
But that moment had changed something. He had triggered something. A white avalanche. In the following minutes, it rolled unstoppably over the Parisian mega-ensemble, which had actually played the game quite confidently beforehand. “The first goal completely changed the game,” said PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino. “We were better than Real Madrid for an hour. The atmosphere in the stadium has changed. After that we made some mistakes, there’s no denying that. The worst feeling is that we were the better team, but we got the game within lost by ten minutes.”
That knockout could have wild consequences
Benzema for second (76th) and Benzema for third (78th) – once again the dream of the French star team was destroyed. Bitter enough if you hold it emotionally with this team. And possibly fatal in its effects. Because a knockout in the round of 16 was really not planned. It does not match the claims or the crazy investments made by club boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Now there is not necessarily any indication that the businessman will simply sink his commitment. But he will very likely need a lot of money and patience again to rearrange or put together his sporty luxury toy. It is hard to imagine that Paris can continue to build on its sensational storm around Kylian Mbappé, around Neymar and Lionel Messi in the coming season. Mbappé, the man with world footballer potential, was tired of PSG at the beginning of this season, his fever dream is Real Madrid. And Los Blancos are also delighted with the idea that this phenomenal Frenchman will soon be playing for them (even on a free transfer). His goal on Wednesday evening in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu can be accepted afterwards as a small taster for big, common visions.
What is Lionel Messi doing?
How things will continue with Messi, who neither appears to be outstanding in sport nor seems to be particularly happy in Paris, also seems completely open. At some point, the Argentine had always emphasized that he would like to return to Barcelona. A return to his clammy heart club does not seem very likely, especially since the Futbol Club is supposed to use all its monetary efforts to transfer Erling Haaland. But maybe the eternal world footballer will also take a small, lucrative detour via Qatar, Dubai or some other place where football tends to be the highest-paid development work.
Neymar remains. He, too, had always flirted with wanting to do something different in terms of football. But both the Brazilian and the rumor mill have quietened down a bit over the past few months. Perhaps he will (once again) become the anchor of the rebuild. Who should lead it? Not clear. It’s hard to imagine Pochettino being held after that early knockout. Especially since the team hasn’t developed much under him and he can’t get his defense weaknesses under control. “I’m really disappointed, upset – but something like that can happen. The next few weeks won’t be easy,” suspects the Argentine. Especially not for him. But the exit option is already waving with both arms. Pochettino has long been associated with Manchester United.
Do the club bosses guess what?
Paris St. Germain, it must be said with this clearness, failed. Again, the team only has the role of the billionaire idiot in the premier class. The bosses from Qatar are actually only interested in one thing, they finally want to win the Henkelpott, the longing trophy from the premier class. The next mega-investment last summer served this goal alone. That’s where the money circulated. In fact, the power of numbers was not expressed in the transfer fees, but rather in the salaries. Of course, financial fair play was observed. It says from the club. It just shows how absurd this rule is, which should actually put a stop to the madness on the market.
Has it finally become clear to the club leaders that not only do they win a massive number of Euros titles, but that a well-functioning collective and a sensibly balanced team are also needed for this? Nobody knows for sure. But since this Wednesday evening at the latest, the Qatari celebrations while waiting should suspect that the way to the trophy of longing is not a freeway without a speed limit (then the PSG car would not be able to be stopped), but rather the A40 with plenty of stop-and-go and some unpleasant exits.