It was a night to remember for Paris Saint Germain as they brushed off their Champions League hoodoo by claiming a win in the last 5 minutes of this tense quarter final game which nearly saw Thomas Tunchel's side exit at this stage of the competition once again.
Champions League debutantes Atalanta were only a minute away from claiming a historic victory in Portugal only to be denied by two quick fire goals in the dying moments of the game as the Italian side couldn't see off a PSG side who had plenty of the ball, but failed to capitalize on that until the very end.
It was a fine finish in the 26th minute from Mario Pasalic who took advantage of Atalanta best chance of the whole game. The ball broke free after Zapata poked it into the Croatians path who then steered the ball in to the top left hand corner, past Kaylor Navas, to send the club from Bergamo into the lead.
It was a case of trying to shut up shop from that point on as the best chances Atalanta had were coming from set - pieces. Captain, Alejandro Gomez was the orchestrator sending the ball into the box with precision as every delivery was met by the head of an Atalanta player with Navas needing to make some very good saves to keep the ball from hitting the back of the net.
In a game that as dominated by PSG possession the French side pushed hard to find an equalizer. Neymar particularly was having a great game with regards to the build up and the chances being created from his speed on the ball and quick thinking, but every opportunity he had, was hit well wide. He had three one-on-one situations during the first half but blazed those opportunities off target, not even giving 28 year old goalkeeper, Marco Sportiello, too much to worry about.
Atalanta were concentrating their attacks on the flanks, overloading both sides and were caught out many times through the middle whenever PSG countered. However they weren't punished and went into the break leading 1-0.
The second half was much the same as PSG continued to pressure Atalanta but not much was happening until Kylian Mbappe was introduced on the hour to help save their season.
He had been denied on two occasions bursting into the area and his first shot was saved by Sportiello, with his other chance being well blocked by Rafael Toloi. PSG's attack wasn't helped either with a poor performance from Argentine striker Mario Icardi who in particular, was not at his best. He was almost anonymous on the pitch until he was taken off for former Stoke player, Choupo-Moting in the 79th minute, and what a substitution that was.
With the game entering the 89th minute PSG equalized through defensive player Marquinhos, who was in the area at the right time. Neymar received the ball into the box and laid it across the 6-yard area for the Brazilian to hit it home. Cue the scenes as Tunchel, with his leg in a brace, screamed with delight on the touchline punching the air with both fists.
It seemed the game would go into extra time but now as it entered the 93rd minute, the most unlikeliest of heroes in Choupo-Moting, who tapped home in similar style to the first goal. This time it was the explosive Mbappe who got into the box, fired the ball across the goal again, for an easy winner which sends PSG into the history book. They reach the final four in the competition for the first time in 25 years and with Neymar seemingly fit for the next round, i'll be interesting to see if the cub can finally live up to the fans expectations after years of struggle in European competition.
Comments