PSG 3-0 Real Madrid: 3 Reasons why Los Blancos lost the match | UEFA Champions League 2019-20
In what was arguably the most anticipated fixture of matchday 1 of the Champions League, PSG hosted Real Madrid at the Parc des Princes in the second match of Group A.
Galatasaray and Club Brugge had played out a goalless stalemate in the earlier fixture, handing an opportunity of topping the group to either side that won the contest, and PSG ultimately triumphed in a 3-0 whitewash.
A first-half brace from former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria as well as a late Thomas Meunier goal in injury time condemned Real Madrid to their first defeat of the season and leaves Zinedine Zidane's men rooted to the bottom of the table.
Given the quality of players within the Real Madrid squad, it was expected that they would give a good account of themselves against PSG, but that failed to happen as the Spanish giants were blown away in the French capital.
In this piece, we shall be highlighting three reasons why Real Madrid lost to PSG.
#3 Los Blancos failed to make a mark in the final third
Having sat out Real Madrid's opening three fixtures of the season due to injury, Los Blancos' most expensive player in history finally made his long-awaited debut for Real Madrid when he was given a 30-minute run in the 3-2 victory over Levante at the weekend.
Eden Hazard was declared fit enough to start against PSG, and this saw Zinedine Zidane field the trio of Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema for the first time.
The three players are undoubtedly world-class and among the best in the business. Fans would have been excited at the prospect of seeing all three men in action, as they each possess the ability to unlock defences on their own, and their combination is expected to wreak havoc this season.
However, against PSG, Real Madrid disappointed, with their much-vaunted attacking trio failing to display their prowess in the game, and were largely ineffective in front of PSG's goal.
In total, they had 10 shots, but rather disappointingly, they failed to draw a single save from former teammate Keylor Navas, which was rather disappointing given the calibre of players on display for Zinedine Zidane's men.
Although they had two goals from Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale correctly ruled out for offside and handball respectively, it was a very lethargic and disjointed attacking performance from the record European champions.
A club the size of Real Madrid failing to register a single shot on target against PSG was disappointing, to say the least, and their lack of bite in attack played a major role in seeing them fall to defeat in Paris.
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