Paris Saint-Germain keep finding new and more spectacular ways to self-implode on the greatest stage.
The French behemoths have long since become a mockery in the biggest Champions League nights, their name a byword for fragile mentality.
But their latest implosion against Real Madrid will surely go down as one of the worst in their back catalogue of self-capitulations; one that was, as always with PSG, entirely man-made and through their own fault.
Worryingly, from a Manchester United perspective, the manner of the defeat also raises questions about Mauricio Pochettino and whether he really is the right man to bring United back to where they ought to be.
It must be said that being a coach at PSG is a futile career choice. The players essentially run the club and don’t adhere to tactical instructions. Better coaches than Pochettino have tried and failed to steer the ultra-lavish PSG cruise liner, where the biggest names always dictate terms.
But Pochettino hardly covered himself in glory in the Santiago Bernabeu either.
PSG had total control of the tie from the first leg. They bossed Real for the majority of the game, to such an extent that there were rumours that Kylian Mbappe wasn’t impressed with what he saw and was actually considering staying in Paris (although after the second leg, he might now be reconsidering that idea).
Moreover, PSG were 1-0 ahead in Spain before their latest embarrassment came to the fore. There was a beautiful sequence of play in the second half when Lionel Messi, Marco Verratti, Neymar, Leandro Paredes and Danilo Pereira were all involved in a litany of passes – well over 30 – that exuded confidence and gave the impression that PSG were in control of the affair.
Even when Karim Benzema got his first goal of the evening, PSG still had some semblance of control. But Pochettino made one change that led to the momentum in the game shifting towards the men in white.
He took off Paredes for Idrissa Gueye with 20 minutes left remaining. Paredes had been excellent up until that point and helped keep PSG’s top-heavy XI balanced. Yet their shape fell once he was taken off and, with Verratti, Danilo Pereira and Gueye all higher up the pitch, Madrid seized the initiative and ruthlessly punished them.
Angel Di Maria, a player who has made a career out of helping ultra attacking teams stay balanced, was brought on too late by Pochettino, by which time the game was finished and PSG’s latest collapse was set in stone.
In the aftermath of PSG’s latest European bottle-job, Pochettino sought to push the blame towards Dutch referee Danny Makkelie for not blowing a foul on Gianluigi Donnarumma in the lead-up to Benzema’s first goal.
This of course is a classic deflection tactic used by some of the greatest managers of all time but the fact that Pochettino refused to comment on what happened after Benzema’s first of the evening gave the impression that he truly believed the Dutch official had cost PSG the tie, rather than his inability to manage the game.
Whether United will want to go with Pochettino remains to be seen at this stage. He will most likely receive his marching orders at the end of the season in the French capital but given recent events at Chelsea and the possible availability of Thomas Tuchel, Pochettino to United may not be the certainty that it was several weeks ago.
