PSG’s defeats have reached a common denominator this season: the magical trio formed by Messi, Neymar and Mbappé. At the Bernabéu it was no exception. The Parisians fell 3-1, thus saying goodbye to the Champions League, that competition that obsesses Qatar so much, but that in 12 years and after an unprecedented investment, it has not yet been able to achieve.
In four of the five defeats of the current leader of Ligue 1 so far this season, Messi, Neymar and Mbappé started from the start. Only against Nice last Saturday, due to a suspension of the French international, the exception occurred. Rennes, Manchester City, Nantes and Real Madrid have been the four teams that have beaten PSG this season with the presence of the magic starting trinomiala statistic that is no coincidence if we look at the lack of defensive commitment of the three attackers of the Parisian team.
Curiously, the only stretch in which PSG have been undefeated so far this season came without Neymar. Since the Brazilian fell injured in the ankle on November 28, the team did not lose a single game until February, when Ney returned. After the victory against Real Madrid in the first leg of the round of 16, PSG have lost three of the last four played in official competition, all four with Neymar starting. The former Barcelona player was the big name of the offensive trio by L’Équipe, who gave him a poor 4, blaming him for the number of balls lost during the second half.
Di Maria, the eternal forgotten
If there is a forgotten player at PSG, that is Ángel Di María. Not even the great performance he showed during the two months that Neymar was injured were enough to give him prominence at the Bernabéu. If in 2018, the year in which Real Madrid beat PSG 3-1 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, Emery preferred to finish off two full-backs rather than give him minutes, this Wednesday it was Pochettino’s turn, who decided to enter him on the field game when his team was totally broken and 3-1 against.
El Fideo, top assistant in the club’s history, could leave for free in June, even more so after the harsh message he received in one of the most important games of the season for PSG, but the most. Negotiations for his contract extension are stalled and in France there is already talk that Leonardo would have chosen Paquetá, from Lyon, to replace him.
To make matters worse, in one of the final plays and after a race against Nacho, fell injured. It was a muscle injury in the hamstringand after the first studies it has been confirmed that the Argentine will be three weeks off. Therefore, it is veryIt is difficult for him to arrive for the next matches of the Albiceleste qualification for the World Cup in Qatar, where he was being a very important piece for Scaloni.