"Launch it out of the stadium!" - Rio Ferdinand blasts usually reliable PSG star for his performance against Real Madrid
Rio Ferdinand has blasted Paris Saint Germain (PSG) for their terrible defending against Real Madrid following their Champions League exit in the Round of 16.
The player-turned-pundit singled out PSG captain Marquinhos for his part in the Parisians' collapse at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Paris Saint-Germain looked to be in the driver's seat to book their place in the quarter-finals thanks to Kylian Mbappe's first-half strike that doubled PSG's advantage on aggregate.
However, Los Blancos managed to make a spectacular comeback in the second half with French superstar Karim Benzema bagging a hat-trick.
The 34-year-old striker scored three goals in the span of just 17 minutes to knock the French giants out of the competition.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have only themselves to blame for yet another underwhelming CL campaign as they did not defend well enough to qualify for the last eight.
PSG were left fuming after Real Madrid's win at the Bernabeu, with security having to intervene when president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and sporting director Leonardo went looking for the referee to complain about his performance, sources have told @alexkirkland. https://t.co/UhNt7f6wYH
Gianluigi Donnarumma’s error led to the first goal for the Spanish giants. Poor defending played an instrumental role in the other two goals as well.
PSG skipper Marquinhos was particularly poor for the French side and it was his poor clearance that led to the decisive goal for los Blancos.
Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand blasted PSG and particularly Marquinhos for their shambolic defending.
"This is a joke, for a team of this experience," Ferdinand told BT Sport as quoted by Metro. "10 and a half seconds from kick off. Marquinhos, I love as a centre half, he is one of the players who normally you wouldn’t aim any criticism at for the way he defends. But [he needs to] launch it out of the stadium! Give away a corner even. It is unbelievable."
Real Madrid prove their mettle in the Champions League once again with a comeback against PSG
PSG were by far the better of the two teams over the two legs of their Round of 16 tie against Real Madrid.
They enjoyed a 2-0 aggregate lead until the hour mark of the second leg at the Sanitago Bernabeu but still somehow managed to throw everything away.
It shows the mentality of Real Madrid, the 13-time holders of the Champions League, and that is what their opponents seem to be lacking.
When they said money can't buy class, they meant PSG
The French giants have been assembling a star-studded squad for over a decade now to get their hands on the most coveted trophy in European club football.
This is arguably the strongest PSG squad in their entire history, but Real Madrid destroyed them in just 17 minutes.
The Parisian side look resigned to losing Kylian Mbappe in the summer to Real Madrid and will have to rebuild their attack.
Rather than looking to build an all-star side, PSG should instead focus on building a team with togetherness and team chemistry.