Champions League 2019-20: 3 things we learned from PSG's 3-0 win over Real Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain welcomed 13-time Champions League winners Real Madrid to start their European campaign, and it was anticipated to be an exhilarating fixture between two of the heavyweights in world football. However, PSG turned out to be the better side by far.
Angel di Maria's first-half brace and a late goal from Thomas Meunier secured all three points for Thomas Tuchel's side. They have now climbed to the top of group A.
Real Madrid produced an underwhelming performance at the Parc des Princes, with most of their players failing to impress. The Los Blancos failed to manage even a single shot on target in the match, which shows the lack of intent from their front-line.
Here, we look at three things we learned from PSG's emphatic victory over Real Madrid:
#3 Bale the only shining light in Real's below-par attacking performance
Real Madrid were far from their best against PSG, especially going forward. Despite the firepower the Los Blancos had on the pitch, they failed to manage even a single shot on target.
Eden Hazard, who was Real Madrid's most expensive signing of the summer, hugely disappointed on his Champions League debut for his new club. The Belgian looked inept against the Parisians as he failed to make any sort of impact for his side.
The only positive for the Los Blancos from the game was the performance of Gareth Bale - a player who was banished from the first team by Zinedine Zidane as the Frenchman didn't consider him to be part of Madrid's long-term future.
Bale looked lively throughout the game and tried to drive forward at every opportunity. The 30-year-old Welshman carved out some great chances for his side and nearly scored an absolute stunner, only for VAR to disallow the goal for handball.
#2 PSG didn't miss their star trio
PSG were without their key players Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani for the game against Real Madrid. However, they didn't seem to miss the trio as they ended up demolishing the 13-time European Champions.
Another trio - of Marquinhos, Marco Veratti and Idrissa Gueye - massively stepped up against the Los Blancos and were key to PSG's victory. While Veratti controlled the tempo of the game and constantly looked to make things happen, Marquinhos and Gueye continuously broke up the play and worked extremely hard out of possession to win the ball back for their side.
The dominant performance from the PSG midfield helped their side cope without their talismanic attacking trio.
#1 Super Di Maria stole the show against his former side
Angel di Maria stole the limelight by scoring twice in the first half of the game against his former employers. The former Los Blancos winger toe-poked Juan Bernat's low cross past Thibaut Courtois, before scoring an absolute screamer from outside the box to complete his brace.
The 31-year-old Argentine ran at the Real Madrid defence every time he got the ball, and his trickery and quick feet were hugely problematic for the opposition to deal with. The winger looked fired up against Real Madrid and could have grabbed a hat-trick if his lofted effort had crept under the crossbar in the second half.
On a night when PSG were without three of their best players, Di Maria stepped up for his side and almost single-handedly earned his side all three points.
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