Paris Saint-Germain 1 Real Madrid 2 (Real win 5-2 on aggregate)
They may have spent more than €1bn (£895m) on transfers in recent years but PSG remain an also-ran among the big boys of European football.
Last night’s home defeat to Real Madrid in their Champions League last-16 second-leg clash was the second successive season that the French club have exited the competition at this stage.
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Indeed, since Qatar Sports Investments began pumping huge amounts of money into PSG six years ago, they have still not made it beyond the quarter-finals, an excruciating statistic for everyone concerned with the club.
This season was supposed to be their season. The summer months had seen the arrival in Paris of Neymar, Dani Alves and Kylian Mbappe, and in the autumn group stage they imperiously swept aside the opposition.
Then came Real Madrid, and PSG discovered once again in the first leg of the last 16 tie that the knockout stages are as much about mental strength as physical skill. Leading 1-0 in the Bernabeu, the visitors cracked in the final quarter, allowing the defending champions to build a sizeable 3-1 advantage going into last night’s second leg.
The odds were always against PSG, particularly given the absence of the injured Neymar, and the fact that their European rivals know the gentle environs of Ligue 1 are no place in which to prepare for the ferocity and intensity of a Champions League knockout match.
And so it proved once more as Real took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo six minutes into the second half. That was effectively game over for PSG, whose frustration was illustrated by the stupid sending-off of midfielder Marco Verratti midway through the second period. Although they equalised through Edinson Cavani on 71 minutes, PSG then conceded again, this time courtesy of Casemiro’s heavily deflected strike.
Real are now into the Champions League quarter-finals for an eighth successive season and the possibility of an unprecedented third consecutive title is a real possibility.
“It was a tough match,” was the generous assessment of Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, who in reality was probably surprised by the ease with which his team coped with PSG. “We started very well. We were focused and I believe it was a deserved win.”
Real Madrid have struggled domestically this season and are only third in La Liga, 15 points behind Barcelona, whereas in contrast PSG are six points clear at the top of their championship.
Another Ligue 1 title looks a formality, then, but that’s not why the Qataris have spent their one billion euros and there were ominous words after last night’s defeat for coach Unai Emery from PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
“We didn’t do anything we should have done tonight,” he said. “We don’t want to overreact, we will talk to the players. We need to be calm and relax and we will think at what we have to do next.”
Liverpool 0 Porto 0 (Liverpool win 5-0 on aggregate)
Liverpool have joined Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals after securing a 5-0 aggregate win over Porto.
The Reds won by five goals in Portugal two weeks ago meaning last night’s second leg was a formality.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are into the last eight for the first time since 2009 and the Liverpool boss says he does not mind who his team faces.
He told the BBC: “The next round will be difficult, seven other very good teams - maybe four of them are from England, which doesn’t make it easier. I think we will have a chance for sure to go to the semi-finals. We’ll take it step by step. We don’t wish for anybody. We play whoever we get.”
Champions League round of 16 results and fixtures
First-leg results
- FC Basel 0 Manchester City 4
- Juventus 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2
- FC Porto 0 Liverpool 5
- Real Madrid 3 Paris Saint-Germain 1
- Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1
- Bayern Munich 5 Besiktas 0
- Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Roma 1
- Sevilla 0 Manchester United 0
Second-leg results
- Liverpool 0 FC Porto 0 (5-0 on aggregate)
- Paris Saint-Germain 1 Real Madrid 2 (2-5)
Second-leg fixtures (7.45pm unless stated)
Tonight
- Tottenham vs. Juventus (2-2)
- Manchester City vs. FC Basel (4-0)
Tuesday, 13 March
- Roma vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
- Manchester United vs. Sevilla
Wednesday, 14 March
- Besiktas vs. Bayern Munich (5pm)
- Barcelona vs. Chelsea
When is the Champions League quarter-final draw?
The draw for the Champions League quarter-finals takes place on Friday, 16 March. The quarter-final first legs will be on Tuesday, 3 April and Wednesday, 4 April. The return legs will be on 10 and 11 April.
