PSG, Laurent Blanc Looking for Answers Following Champions League Elimination

At full-time, as the two managers exchanged the customary handshake, their expressions hardly could have been more different. One was a league champion, the leader of a club miles ahead of any domestic competitor. The other was a lame duck, destined for the exit door this summer to make way for a more famous successor.

The latter, incidentally, was the victor, both on the night and on aggregate. He was Manuel Pellegrini, and his Manchester City side had just finished off a 3-2 win against Paris Saint-Germain over two legs of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

Pellegrini is, of course, on his way out at the Etihad, collateral damage in Man City's move for Pep Guardiola. Having just guided the club to its first Champions League semi-final, the Chilean was understandably elated.

Just as plain was the pain on his counterpart's face. And why not? Domestically, Laurent Blanc's men are in a class of their own, having already won a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title, once again at a trot. But against Manchester City, the Parisiens never quite played their best football over 180 minutes and deservedly went out of the Champions League. Again.

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Now, in fairness, PSG were without the injured Marco Verratti for both legs and the suspended Blaise Matuidi for the second. In addition, Thiago Motta limped off late in the first half on Tuesday, further reducing the French side's midfield capabilities in the critical voyage across the English Channel.

But injuries and suspensions are part of the game, and without Verratti and Matuidi, PSG seemed unable to break down a back line that had kept only one clean sheet in nine previous Champions League matches, according to Opta Joe. After scoring twice in the first leg, Blanc's men only came close to scoring at the Etihad on a pair of Zlatan Ibrahimovic free-kicks, though two goals were correctly ruled out for offside.

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With Ibrahimovic unable to break City's resistance, PSG lacked a Plan B. Edinson Cavani was thoroughly ineffective, and if the Parisiens are to advance further in this competition next season, they might do well to consider a change.

For his part, Blanc shouldn't escape scrutiny either. With center-back David Luiz suspended, the manager shuffled his formation into an unfamiliar three-man back line. Before the match, B/R's Jonathan Johnson called the decision an "unnecessary panic move" and a "gamble"—and those critiques soon proved insightful.

Serge Aurier's inclusion on the right side of the back three was disastrous as he played a part in the concession of a first-half penalty—though Sergio Aguero missed it. More generally, PSG looked unfamiliar with the formation and seemed relieved when Blanc switched back to a four-man defense late in the first half following Motta's injury.

With the resources at his disposal, Blanc must know he should do better. At full-time, one could almost see on his face what was coming next—sharp questions back home from fans and journalists alike.

Blanc also knows that, although his side won Ligue 1 easily yet again, the club's directors will ultimately judge him on PSG's progression in Europe. After a fourth straight elimination in the quarter-finals, it remains to be seen whether Blanc is the man to take PSG forward.