UEFA Champions League 2019-20: Real Madrid 2-2 PSG: 5 Hits and Flops
Real Madrid welcomed Paris Saint-Germain to the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday knowing very well that they needed all 3 points to secure qualification to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
The La Liga giants were already 5 points behind PSG in Group A and could not afford to slip further away. Real are currently second in the La Liga table and arrived into the game on the back of a morale-boosting 3-1 win over Real Sociedad over the weekend. However, Zinedine Zidane knew that he had his task cut out on Matchday 5.
For starters, PSG had already defeated Madrid 3-0 in the reverse fixture at home in September. The Ligue 1 champions required only 1 point to secure qualification. The stakes were a little different for both teams going into the game, but both wanted 3 points to secure their position in the group and their managers named the first eleven accordingly.
Real Madrid Starting XI: Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Marcelo; Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde, Casemiro, Isco; Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema
PSG starting XI: Keylor Navas; Thomas Meunier, Thiago Silva, Presnel Kimpembe, Juan Bernat Velasco; Marquinhos, Idrissa Gueye, Marco Verratti; Angel Di María, Mauro Icardi, Kylian Mbappé
The home side started the game well, while the visitors threatened on the counter. Real took the lead through Karim Benzema in the 17th minute. The first half ended with the score 1-0 in the home side’s favour. The Frenchman scored his second of the night in the 79th minute, only for Kylian Mbappe to get one back two minutes later. Pablo Sarabia then drew level for PSG in the 83rd minute and the game ended 2-2. Here are the hits and flops from the game.
#5 Hit: Kylian Mbappe
Because Real Madrid started the game on the attacking front, Kylian Mbappe found a lot of room to run and cause trouble. The Frenchman got beyond Marcelo on a couple of occasions in the first half, which was a cause of concern for the home side.
Real paid closer attention to him in the second half and just when it looked like the home team were cruising, Mbappe hit them hard.
The Frenchman kick-started PSG’s comeback by managing to his escape his marker and scoring a simple tap-in in the 81st minute. The goal instilled confidence in the away side who pushed harder for the second goal and ultimately secured a point.
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