Ten-man Paris Saint-Germain went out of the Champions League at the round-of-16 stage with a whimper as holders Real Madrid comfortably earned a 5-2 aggregate victory.
In the absence of waylaid Brazil forward Neymar, the Parisians needed at least two goals to advance after a 3-1 loss in the Spanish capital, but fell behind on the night to Portugal icon Cristiano Ronaldo’s towering header. They then had Italy centre midfielder Marco Verratti recklessly sent off for a second booking accrued because of dissent, prior to Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani’s lucky goal to give some hope.
This was soon extinguished by Brazil defensive midfielder’s deflected effort to earn the two-time-consecutive holders Madrid a 2-1 victory at Parc des Princes.
Here are our player ratings:
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
Alphonse Areola – 7: Pulled off several fine saves and could do nothing to deny Ronaldo’s bullet header.
Dani Alves – 4: Has played more than 100 Champions League games, but was criminally lackadaisical for Madrid’s opener.
Marquinhos – 7: Defied his recent hamstring problems to offer stoic defence. Talent is becoming more refined.
Thiago Silva – 6: Had one crunching collision with Madrid’s Dani Carvajal. Played a role in Edinson Cavani’s goal.
Yuri Berchiche – 6: Provided a positive influence going forward. But he was eaten alive by Ronaldo for his goal.
Adrien Rabiot – 4: Was a passenger in midfield. So many passes went astray and his tracking back was risible.
Thiago Motta – 4: Provided no defensive shield, making zero tackles or interceptions before being hooked as PSG chased goals.
Marco Verratti – 5: Best of bad bunch before dismissal. Unforgivably saw red mist and eight career club red cards is shocking.
Angel Di Maria – 5: Will definitely be no seller’s remorse for Madrid. A pale shadow of the man he replaced – Neymar.
Edinson Cavani – 6: Knew absolutely nothing about his goal as the ball bounced off him. Otherwise, starved of service.
Kylian Mbappe – 5: Bossed last year’s knockouts, but will rue selfish decision to shoot when Cavani was in space.
3 - 3 of Paris' last four red cards in the Champions League have been received by Marco Verratti. Nervous. pic.twitter.com/XCCRvA13v7
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) March 6, 2018
SUBS
Javier Pastore – 6: His header caused chaos in Madrid ranks and led to Cavani’s fluky goal.
Julian Draxler – N/A: Tried to breathe life into PSG’s attack, but cause was already a lost one.
Lassana Diarra – 6: Was given a few minutes against his former employers.
Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria had a night to forget against former club Real Madrid.
