Real Madrid beat PSG 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie on Wednesday. Here are three takeaways from the match.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, once from the spot, as Real Madrid came from behind to beat PSG 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie. Here are three takeaways from this heavyweight clash.
Real Madrid need Dani Carvajal back
Real Madrid’s first-choice right-back, Dani Carvajal, was suspended for this match, and Real felt the effects. In place of Carvajal, Nacho was called upon to anchor the back line, and he struggled mightily against Neymar. Granted, Neymar is one of the best attackers in the world, but an elite right-back like Carvajal could at least hope to slow him down.
Neymar shredded Nacho in the first half, taking advantage of pretty much every mistake he made. To cap it all off, Nacho failed to clear the ball that led to Adrien Rabiot’s opener. Neymar possesses a rare blend of pace and skill; nobody can stop him entirely, but the obvious takeaway is that Real would benefit from Carvajal’s return, especially now they have a lead to protect.
Real’s attack ran almost exclusively through the left side, with Marcelo particularly prominent. Nacho, likely because of his opposition, didn’t find himself overlapping on the right. That’s another element Carvajal brings to the table. The second leg will look much different with Carvajal back in the lineup for the Spanish side.
PSG fail to answer questions about their maturity and mindset
It was less than a year ago that PSG collapsed against Barcelona at this stage of the Champions League. The French side took a four-goal lead into the second leg, and added an away goal to make it five, but still managed to concede six goals to Barcelona and crash out of the tournament in embarrassing fashion.
A year and a world-record transfer fee later, PSG showed a similar lack of maturity. They went up 1-0, but proceeded to concede three unanswered goals to trail Real Madrid 3-1. This match brings up old questions about the side’s ability to really go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the world. Neymar played fantastically, but his team couldn’t see out the game after going ahead.
This loss will fuel the critics’ claims that this team don’t have what it takes to compete in this competition. They may have had some unlucky bounces, including a penalty shout that wasn’t awarded, but this game raises familiar questions about whether this team have the mentality to shrug off bad luck and keep their composure when it matters.
Next: Top 25 Champions League players of all time
Ronaldo doesn’t have to play well to make a telling difference
Ronaldo has had a bad season by his standards, and didn’t look much like his old self against PSG either, but if there’s one thing we know, it’s that Cristiano Ronaldo loves the Champions League. His penalty at the end of the first half got him on the board, and his second gave Real the lead. The goals were his 100th and 101st for Real in Europe.
To still be scoring at the rate he is at age 33 in the toughest competition in the world is no small feat. He was largely peripheral in this match — before his goal he missed a couple of presentable chances, and otherwise struggled to get involved — and still ended up making the biggest difference in the match.
Ronaldo had a disappointing start to last season as well, but came into his own in the latter rounds of the Champions League. He seems primed to make a similar run this season, but even if his overall play doesn’t improve, Real will almost certainly be able to rely on him for goals.