Late Goal Gives PSG Minimal Lifeline Ahead of Barcelona Champions League Return

PARC DES PRINCES, PARIS — Gregory van der Wiel’s late deflected strike has given Paris Saint-Germain the faintest of hope ahead of next week’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg against Barcelona.

Two goals from Luis Suarez and another from Neymar have put the Catalan side firmly in control of this tie, and Luis Enrique’s men deserve their 3-1 advantage from Wednesday night at Parc des Princes.

It was harsh on Laurent Blanc’s men, who were deprived of a number of star players for the first leg of this last eight tie, but the gulf between the two squads was clear by the end of the 90 minutes.

PSG now face an almost impossible task to qualify for the semi-finals, needing to go to Camp Nou next week and score three goals without a Barca reply. Les Parisiens will have the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marco Verratti back in Catalonia, but there are now big question marks hanging over captain Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Thiago Motta.

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Silva’s exit due to injury after just 21 minutes was a major blow. The defending French champions were already down one goal after Neymar’s opener and needing to settle down after a nervy opening period.

The skipper’s injury meant that David Luiz—who had made a miraculous return to the PSG squad after a recent muscular injury suffered against Olympique de Marseille—had to be forced into action.

Although few can fault the Brazilian international’s commitment and willingness to put his health on the line for his team when they needed him most, the decision to utilise Luiz in this match was ultimately the wrong one.

The PSG No. 32 was clearly not fit enough to be on the Parc des Princes pitch, and his involvement handicapped an already under-strength team.

What was impressive was that it took until the 67th minute for Luiz’s lack of match fitness to be exposed by Suarez. Twelve minutes later, it happened again, and the French capital outfit found themselves down 3-0 with the tie already as good as over.

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Luiz must shoulder some of the blame for Suarez’s pair of goals, particularly the second one, but the criticism that will likely be forthcoming is not entirely merited.

Had PSG boosted their squad with a better fourth central defensive option than the influential but physically semi-retired Zoumana Camara, then Luiz would not have been risked in this game.

It is not the first time since Blanc has been in charge of the French giants that they have had injury problems in the centre of defence, yet Le President has always insisted upon having four options available to him and no more.

There is nothing wrong with that number of central defenders, but suggesting that Camara can do an effective job in the Champions League or any of the domestic competitions is simply false. The veteran defender is not up to the standard required by PSG, and Blanc’s lack of trust in the 36-year-old veteran was clear in his choice to bring a semi-fit Luiz on instead of him.

Blanc brought the defensive mistakes of Luiz upon himself by forcing the South American into action, and for that he has to accept more of the blame. However, nobody in the PSG defence covered themselves with glory.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Despite those defensive issues, PSG still could have scored more than Van der Wiel’s solitary deflected consolation effort.

Javier Pastore and Edinson Cavani both missed excellent first-half chances, while the latter forced Marc-Andre ter Stegen into a smart save with a powered effort in the second 45. Both players should have done better with their opportunities, but the Uruguayan’s all-round performance was poor.

Played into a brilliant position by a combination of the battling Blaise Matuidi—captain after Silva’s exit—and Ezequiel Lavezzi, El Matador inexplicably opted to look for the pass to Pastore instead of going for goal as almost any other striker would have done.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

To not even get a shot away in that position was inexcusable and adds to a growing list of openings Cavani has spurned this season. Matuidi’s visible frustration at his team-mate’s ineptitude was completely understandable.

More than anything though, the team lacked experience.

Ibrahimovic and Motta are two key influences on this team that the younger players no longer had to draw inspiration from in this game. Silva’s substitution further depleted that scarce amount of know-how and even Verratti—still just 22 years old—brings a relatively large amount of experience, despite his young age.

With so many of those important figures missing at the same time, it was effectively an untested team, unfamiliar with one another in the way the starting XI understand each other. The result was a naive performance in which PSG were deservedly punished.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Overall, the defeat should not be seen as a major failure. Of course it will be disappointing to PSG fans and the club’s ambitious owners, but this was always likely to happen against a team with the attacking quality of Barcelona with so many absentees.

Les Parisiens should not have expected to beat Luis Enrique’s men. The best that could have been hoped for before the game was a 0-0 draw to take to Camp Nou, and that was out of the question before Silva even came off injured.

Scoring three goals in one match away from home is not beyond this PSG team. However, doing that while keeping the likes of Messi, Suarez and Neymar out at the other—especially without the likes of Silva—is a tall order to say the very least.