After a two-month break, the 2021/22 Champions League knockout rounds began, and the most attractive of the 8-group showdown in the quarter-finals was undoubtedly the heavy-hitting showdown between Champions League champions Real Madrid and Ligue 1 banba Paris Saint-Germain.
Real Madrid are currently in first place in La Liga, but have only won 1 win and 2 draws in their last 3 La Liga games, and the lead has narrowed to 4 points, and the Copa del Rey has been eliminated by Bilbao. Paris is still a big player in Ligue 1, but it fell behind in the French Cup and was defeated by Nice on penalties. Both teams have been in somewhat sluggish form recently, and this high-profile showdown may boost the morale of the team.
The Champions League knockout round is a two-legged home-and-away match, and the away performance is particularly critical when the two sides are of equal strength. Since UEFA has abolished the rule of away goal dominance this season, this allows the home team to be more bold in attacking.
Ancelotti put on a 4-3-3 to lead the snake out of the hole, the intention to be stable is self-evident; and fearing real Madrid's sharp counterattack, Pochettino did not dare to be careless, not only did not arrange Neymar to start, but also arranged three backs behind Messi, Mbappe and Di Maria. As a result, the much-anticipated game was spent 45 minutes in a cautious and steady strategy.
In the first half, Paris 6 feet on goal and 1 foot on target, while Real Madrid only had 1 foot on goal, and the game was conservative and flat. The only ripple is that Casemiro will get a yellow card for shoveling Paredes and will miss the second leg of the match between the two sides. After half-time observation, Pochettino finally understood that Real Madrid really did not have any attack.
As a result, the second half of the game became an offensive and defensive battle.
Mbappe's volley, Messi's long-range shot, both powerful and angled, were all saved by Courtois. Carvajal then tripped Mbappe in the penalty area and Messi's penalty was saved by Courtois.
The attack of Greater Paris only blossomed and did not bear fruit, even if Pochettino replaced Neymar, the stormy attack of Greater Paris still could not knock on Courtois's ten fingers. Courtois's open-and-tumble performance made Ancettino's intention to take one point away from home a reality, and the ever-controversial world's best goalkeeper made eight saves before the end of the game.
Real Madrid only had 3 shots on goal in the whole game, and it can be said that Courtois alone saved face for Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Just when everyone was thinking that the match would end in a draw and Courtois would be the MVP of the game, Mbappe said no to this ending, and in the toughest way possible.
In injury time, Mbappe picked up Neymar on the left side of the penalty area and tapped the ball back into the box at high speed, a change of direction from between Vazquez and Militan forced into the box, before Valverde to push into the far corner before defending. Courtois, despite his heavenly powers, could not do anything in the face of such a strong individual performance.
Changing directions between high-speed dribbles, forcing a breakthrough and then pushing calmly, Mbappe rewrote the game on his own, not turning Messi's mistakes into regrets, and not making himself the background board for Courtois's heroic performance. This second-reading kill made the most watched supernova in football today the dazzling star of the night.
In the world of martial arts, only fast is not broken, and perhaps some fans think that Mbappe is just a little faster. But that's talent, that's ability.
Although it was only a small 1-0 win, The Greater Paris had enough confidence in advancing to the quarterfinals, and throughout the match, the fans of The Greater Paris against Real Madrid blasted 20 shots on goal and 8 shots on target, while Real Madrid only had 3 shots on goal and 0 shots on target in the whole game! In the second leg of the showdown at the Bernabeu, both Casemiro and Mendy will be suspended for accumulating yellow cards, which will inevitably affect Ancelotti's platooning.
The Champions League knockout rounds are two legs away from home, but sometimes the ending is written in the first leg.