When the pain of defeat eventually subsides, the first question Paris Saint-Germain will ask is how they failed to score a single goal in this Champions League semi-final.
PSG mustered 44 attempts across the two legs against Borussia Dortmund, six of which hit the woodwork. That is not easy to explain. “What does it depend on? The Holy Spirit passing by,” quipped a bemused Luis Enrique. “If there was one unhappy team this evening, it was PSG. We had more than three expected goals tonight.
“If there is a team that has had bad luck, it is PSG.”
Misfortune plays a part but, after 180 minutes of football across two matches of high pressure stakes, there is more to it than that. In truth, PSG really lacked composure when they needed it most. Dortmund, by contrast, were better in both boxes, as Kylian Mbappe admitted. “In decisive matches, in the Champions League, you have to ruthless,” he said. “And we were not ruthless enough.”
Naturally, when the goals do not flow, the focus turns to goalscorer Mbappe — even more so given none of this went to script.
Mbappe was denied his glorious send off (Christian Liewig – Corbis/Getty Images)
This was his last appearance for PSG in the Champions League at the Parc des Princes but, following six years at the club, there would be no last dance at Wembley. No last chance to seize the trophy both he and his club covet most. In the end, he went quietly into the night. “When I score, I take the light and I stand in front of you,” he said. “When I don’t, I also take on the dark side.”
For some, this was actually a fitting finale, the final symbol of the Galacticos expenditure — a player who had extraordinary influence at this club — ending his tenure without European glory. The Champions League could not been bought with billions of investment, nor won by the player on a world record salary.
That undersells what Mbappe means to PSG fans.
Yes, maintaining the relationship has not always been plain sailing but he is the local who has achieved a slew of records, including becoming the club’s greatest ever goalscorer, a world champion and the captain of France. His pain was PSG’s pain on Tuesday, an anguish heightened by raised pre-match hopes. The stage had been set for the perfect send off: an electric atmosphere and a beatable opponent. PSG drew (1-1 away) and beat (2-0 at home) Dortmund in the group stage of this season’s competition, while Dortmund had never scored at the Parc des Princes let alone won there.
Yet all that expectation came to nothing. Rather, Mbappe’s final action of the game was to stumble and fall while chasing a through ball — the first he had received in behind the Dortmund defence all night. Sport does not always follow neat narratives.
A rueful Luis Enrique at the end (Aurelien Meunier – PSG/PSG via Getty Images)
From this point, the usual narrative at PSG sees knives drawn. Particularly after a European exit at the hands of a team they were expected to beat. But not this time.
Club president Nasser Al Khelaifi, speaking after the match, chastised a reporter for asking a question which is asked every year when the Champions League dream dies; a version of ‘Is the manager’s job safe?’ But his response, a dismissive “are you serious with that question” followed by a “do you understand football?”, was indicative of PSG’s mindset. Stability is being prized. The desire to prioritise longer term planning, with Luis Enrique at the helm, should be obvious to everyone.
Clearly, the post mortem this year will not cut so deeply. This was a season billed as one of transition and, while the have cantered to the Ligue 1 title and still have a French Cup final to come, it has looked that way for the most part.
PSG were probably fortunate to advance this far in the Champions League. They had a kind run, avoiding the heavyweights on the other side of the draw. They were saved from elimination at the group stage by a dodgy penalty at home to Newcastle, and then scraped through in Dortmund because Newcastle failed to beat Milan on the final day. And that is even before we get to Barcelona and the Ronald Araujo’s game-changing red card in the quarter-final.
This has been a season of experimentation, with 13 new faces, and a coach searching for a refined formula to suit his playing staff and philosophy.
They lacked consistency and that was evident in their recent Champions League ties. Above all, though, this all feels very fresh and new. They are a young squad. The average age of their starting XI on Tuesday was 24 years and 157 days. That was the youngest starting XI in a Champions League semi-final since Arsenal in May 2009.
The age and inexperience of the group perhaps offers a more relevant explanation as to why the team’s composure in the final third was so visibly defenestrated in this semi-final tie. There was anticipation but also expectation. While they rose to the occasion in Barcelona, this new-look PSG could not muster the same feat here. They struggled under the pressure.
But even so, this season has been a step in the right direction.
Off the field, fans are united with the club again. Around 12 months ago, the PSG squad, led by the gilded front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappe, were heckled mercilessly by the club’s ultras, while Neymar’s house was targeted as fan protests escalated. On Tuesday, the supporters unveiled a tifo they had spent weeks planning which depicted every member of playing staff, plus consultant sporting director Luis Campos, Luis Enrique and Al Khelaifi. The ultras also sang the name of every player before kick off.
The supporters’ pre-match tifo (Christian Liewig – Corbis/Getty Images)
On the field, there are new fan favourites like Warren Zaire-Emery. And there is potential everywhere, from Bradley Barcola to Goncalo Ramos to Xavi Simons, currently on loan at RB Leipzig.
It paints a better picture for the future and so, too, does Luis Enrique’s position within the set-up.
This is arguably the most encouraging aspect. The Spanish coach has quickly established something all of his predecessors desired but struggled to retain: power and influence. After Mbappe informed the club of his intention to leave, Luis Enrique asserted his authority, dropping him from the starting XI and rotating him like any other player.
Those rotations keep the players on their toes. “One good thing that the coach has brought is that we never know who is going to start,” said Ramos last week. “That’s why we work very hard every week. It’s good for us because we’re always ready to play.”
Luis Enrique has instilled some of the basic tenets of his playing philosophy and the numbers reflect this. Before Tuesday, PSG averaged more possession in Champions League games than at any point since Opta started collecting that data in 2003-04. More than that, his PSG team have allowed the fewest opposition passes per defensive action (8.7)
In short, he has made PSG run more.
Luis Enrique has made a positive impact on PSG this season (Christian Liewig – Corbis/Getty Images)
This ultimately leaves PSG in a better position ahead of next year. Particularly at a time when their continental rivals all seem to be shopping for a new head coach. Luis Enrique has had a full year in Paris — and a successful one, a few teething issues aside.
PSG should have beaten Dortmund on Tuesday. They spent enough money last summer, more than €250million (£215m; $268m), to achieve that. But they were still ahead of schedule with this Champions League run.
Mbappe would see things differently, of course, and that was the underlying tension of the season; his short-term hopes and PSG’s new-long term focus. In reality, it was his brilliance that took the team this far. He is their top goalscorer by a considerable margin.
But while he departs without his desired send off, PSG still have something to cling on to. And that might just make this year’s disappointment more palatable.
GO DEEPER
The Briefing: PSG 0 Dortmund 1 – Crucial Hummels, PSG’s attacking struggles
(Top photo: Glenn Gervot/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
