"No organization and no leadership" - Steve McManaman says he expected PSG to unravel in 'historic' night for Real Madrid
Real Madrid beat Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 3-1 (3-2 on aggregate) in their Champions League Round of 16 second leg clash on Wednesday night.
The Spanish giants staged a brilliant second-half comeback to oust the Parisians, who won the first leg 1-0 last month, from the premier European competition.
Despite taking a 2-0 aggregate lead, the Ligue 1 outfit succumbed to Karim Benzema's sensational 17-minute hat-trick.
But former Liverpool and Real Madrid winger Steve McManaman explained that he was unsurprised by the French side's unraveling.
Blaming the toxic player culture at PSG, McManaman told BT Sport (reported via Express) after the match:
“The players are too powerful. They were too powerful under Thomas Tuchel, too powerful under Unai Emery, too powerful under this man. They can’t get told off and when the going gets tough, they do not care."
McManaman felt the tie changed on its head when PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made a mistake to allow Benzema to score Real Madrid's first goal in the 61st minute. The former England international explained:
"And the trigger point was Donnarumma. Yes, it was a bad mistake.But that should have been the point where the team then say, ‘right, the crowd has switched, the attitude in the stadium has switched. We need to dig in, we need to defend deep and we need to just stay in the game until we quieten the crowd down again."
Blaming the lack of work-rate of PSG's famed front three of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, the BT Sport pundit further noted:
“And they don’t (quieten the crowd). They just play wherever they want to play. The top three up front are amazing footballers but they don’t work hard."
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@PSG_English 
@KMbappe 39' 
Tonight @PSG_English are eliminated from the @ChampionsLeague.
@realmadriden 3⃣ - 1⃣ @PSG_English
⚽️ @KMbappe 39'
#𝗥𝗠𝗣𝗦𝗚 https://t.co/n31084xPIx
McManaman also congratulated Real Madrid and felt it was not unexpected to see the French side crumble at the Santiago Bernabeu. He reasoned:
“It was a brilliant evening for Karim Benzema and particularly Real Madrid. We expected PSG to unravel. They did what they always do when they come under pressure - they melt away. There was no organization and no leadership. Another historic night for Real.”
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in trouble for post-match reaction
PSG's defeat was ill-accepted by their president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. The Qatari businessman reportedly went down to the referee's room and wreaked havoc at the match officiating.
He went on to damage equipment and further threatened to kill the man recording the incident, according to reports.
A Swiss court has called for a 28-month prison sentence for PSG and beIN president Nasser Al-Khelaifi as part of FIFAgate.
🚨 A Swiss court has called for a 28-month prison sentence for PSG and beIN president Nasser Al-Khelaifi as part of FIFAgate.
(Source: L'EQUIPE) https://t.co/PB8EJDNoqG
It certainly does not add any charm to the controversial PSG president.
Al-Khelaifi has been accused by a Swiss court of buying out the broadcasting rights for the 2026 and 2030 editions of the FIFA World Cup.