PSG have been here before. Two goals ahead versus Manchester United after the first leg in 2019, four goals ahead of Barcelona in 2017. This time it was half an hour left, with two goals to the good versus Real Madrid.
Wednesday’s last-16 tie was the fourth time out of nine that they have been knocked out of the Champions League when winning the first leg – only Real Madrid have done so more often (six times).
The mentality of their star-studded line-up was weak – perhaps scarred by the mistakes of the past – and they failed to recover after Gianluigi Donnarumma’s howler gifted Karim Benzema his opener.
PSG’s players hardly had time to get their heads up after Benzema’s second before he made it 3-1 on the night and gave Real the crucial goal to send them through.
The Qatari owners’ search for a Champions League trophy goes on. Even the addition of Lionel Messi in the summer could not get them beyond the last 16, with the former Barcelona man anonymous on his return to Spain.
What lies ahead for PSG remains ambiguous, with big question marks over the future of head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Sporting director Leonardo insists Pochettino remains part of the project, but failure to lift the Champions League has only ended in one outcome for managers at PSG under the current owners. Just ask Thomas Tuchel, Unai Emery, Laurent Blanc and Carlo Ancelotti.
With just 30 minutes left of the tie, Real Madrid’s fate looked sealed, and it felt inevitable that PSG would progress.
That all changed, though, with a moment of perseverance from 34-year-old Karim Benzema, whose pressure forced Donnarumma into a mistake that proved to be the catalyst for an epic Champions League comeback.
His tenacity continued to drive Real forward as he put the ball in the net twice with just 10 seconds of open play separating the two goals.
It was a talismanic performance from the Frenchman, who took his place among Real Madrid royalty by overtaking Alfredo Di Stefano as the club’s third-highest scorer, behind only Raul and Cristiano Ronaldo. He also moves ahead of Raul (66) as Real’s second-highest scorer in the Champions League on 67 goals, with only Ronaldo ahead (105).
