Paris Saint-Germain was always going to be facing an uphill battle. After allowing three unanswered goals in a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, a comeback became even more unlikely when Neymar injured himself right before his sister’s birthday. But the Brazilian really missed by PSG vs Real Madrid in the Champions League was not Neymar but experienced defender Dani Alves.
Los Blancos won the match 2-1 on the evening and 5-2 on aggregate, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the first goal to tie Ruud van Nistlerooy’s mark of scoring in nine straight Champions League matches. But let’s focus on some Brazilians.
Neymar’s replacement, Argentine Angel Di Maria, did about what Neymar did in the first leg for PSG: dribbled around a lot, took some shots, but never really created anything meaningful.
Dani Alves, meanwhile, was not hurt for the second leg of the PSG vs Real Madrid Champions League Round of 16 match on Tuesday. In fact, he started, just as he did in the first leg, lining up at right back opposite fellow Brazilian Marcelo. Dani Alves was there physically. Mentally, we’re not sure where he went.
Dani Alves nearly got Cristiano Ronaldo booked for a silly kick out early in the match but didn't add much else for PSG vs Real Madrid. Photo: @442betting | Twitter
Early in the second half, Dani Alves received the ball near midfield and dribbled nonchalantly forward. Eventually, Marco Asensio closed him down and dispossessed him way too easily. It cost PSG the match.
After taking Dani Alves off the ball, Asensio surged forward, waited for his teammates and played in a lovely ball behind the PSG defense for Lucas Vazquez. Because Vazquez wants to keep getting chances in Zinedine Zidane’s lineup, he made the correct decision to send in a perfect cross for Cristiano Ronaldo to head home for a 1-0 lead (4-1 on aggregate) in the 51st minute.
While Dani Alves did hustle back to slow Asensio’s forward run, he backed off lazily and allowed the Spaniard to slot in Vazquez. Two mistakes leading directly to a goal — not what you expect from someone of his experience and pedigree.
The goal itself did not end PSG’s chances — the Parisians still needed to score three goals to advance — but it did kill the team’s confidence. Frustration boiled over 15 minutes later when Marco Verratti picked up a second yellow card for dissent, angry at the referee for not blowing his whistle for a perceived foul. The referee initially appeared to play advantage but when Verratti eventually lost possession he also lost his mind, berating the man in yellow despite already having a yellow and Verratti was rightly sent off. (Incident at 0:53 in video below.)
PSG did pull one back through an incidental finish from Edinson Cavani in the 71st minute, but Casemiro ended any hopes of a comeback with a goal in the 80th minute.
Casemiro’s goal came thanks to a lazy clearance from Adrien Rabiot.
The PSG vs Real Madrid second leg took a dramatic turn when Neymar went down injured in the leadup to the match. It’s hard to say how much Neymar could have affected the return leg in Paris on Tuesday. But little did we know that it was not his absence, but the absence of mind from Dani Alves, that would cost the French club.
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