5 things we learned from Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Real Madrid
After spending nearly 400 million euros in the summer (including Mbappe's deal that will kick in next year), a lot was riding on PSG.
All those dreams went down the drain late on Tuesday night, as PSG were comfortably knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after a 1-2 defeat at home to Real Madrid. The aggregate score of 5-2 will only make the gash deep in Parisian hearts.
A thrashing dealt to Bayern Munich in the second match day merely flattered to deceive as PSG go out of the premium tournament once more in the RO16 - a curse they wanted to break this year through the services of a certain Brazilian.
#1 Unai Emery's tactics
If Unai Emery does remain the manager of PSG next year (or frankly, after tonight), it will remain one of the biggest mysteries in world football.
Be it choosing to play with Lo Celso or choosing to leave out both Thiago Silva and Di Maria in the first leg at the Bernabeu, Emery's tactics in the last match were highly questionable. This time, it wasn't any different.
Just like how he removed Cavani at a crucial juncture in the previous fixture, his substitutions this time left a lot of heads scratching. To be fair to him, the sending off of Verratti did make things difficult for them. But waiting till the game gets out of hand to make substitutions when the current game plan isn't working is not the sign of a good manager.
Speaking of game plans, what was PSG's plan today? Without Neymar, they didn't really have the quality to play a fast-paced, one-touch football, but that is exactly what PSG did. They rarely utilised the space they got on the wings and when they did, the crosses didn't find their way to Cavani.
On the whole, it seems like Emery just isn't cut out for this job on an elite level. If he does bounce back, it should be after a thorough rebranding of ideas and tactics.