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Season after season, the Champions League manages to produce nail-biting finishes and dramatic injury-time winners. The latest in this long and colourful series of pulsating encounters was played out between Paris Saint-Germain and Atalanta in Lisbon.
The French champions mere minutes away from bowing out of the competition before two late goals saw them complete a remarkable come-from-behind win to progress to the semi-finals.
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The unfancied Italians, who had defied the odds by making it to the quarter-finals, looked set to cause another upset as they went ahead in the 26th minute thanks to a superb strike from Mario Pasalic. The all-action Atalanta side were fearless in the face of their French opponents, who had their moments in the first half but were incredibly wasteful in front of goal.
Although PSG turned on the pressure in the second half, Atalanta put on a wonderful rearguard action and defended manfully to keep the score at 1-0. They were helped by a lack of killer instinct from their opponents, who enjoyed more of the ball. However, PSG failed to trouble Marco Sportiello in the Atalanta goal in the second half.
With Kylian Mbappe on the pitch along with Neymar and most of PSG’s other attacking talents, the French side’s unrelenting pressure finally paid off in the 90th minute. A lofted ball to the back post found Neymar, whose ball across goal was bundled home via Mattia Caldara by Marquinhos.
With Atalanta still reeling from the shock of conceding late on, PSG seized their opportunity to strike and grabbed the winner in the 93rd minute from an unlikely source. Neymar fed Mbappe with a perfectly-timed through ball on the left and the Frenchman’s low cross into the box was tucked in by fellow substitute Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
It was a cruel exit for Atalanta, who can look back on their Champions League campaign with immense pride. For PSG, however, the win brings them one step closer to the ultimate goal of Champions League glory. However, Thomas Tuchel’s men will have to up their game in the subsequent stages of the tournament if they are to go all the way.
Here are the hits and flops from a gripping quarter-final tie.
#5 Hit: Mario Pasalic (Atalanta)
Having spent a large part of his senior career as a Chelsea loanee, Mario Pasalic finally made his loan move to Atalanta permanent earlier this season. And with sparkling performances like these, it’s easy to see why the Serie A side have exercised their option to snap up the Croatian. Pasalic has shone for them throughout this campaign and put them ahead in the first half.
Pasalic gave PSG left-back Juan Bernat a torrid time throughout, constantly making intelligent runs down the right wing as his side pressed high up the field. His goal, a superbly-taken curling effort from distance, was his third in his last six Champions League games to go with his two assists.
#4 Flop: Juan Bernat (PSG)
Despite ending up on the winning side, PSG’s Spanish left-back did not have an enjoyable outing as he was given the run-around by Pasalic all game. Bernat let Pasalic escape his attention in the first half, giving the Croatian the time and space to score the opener.
He was then given a booking barely 10 minutes into the second half after lunging in on Duvan Zapata in an effort to halt a potentially dangerous Atalanta break. Bernat spent the remainder of the game walking a defensive tightrope.
#3 Hit: Marquinhos (PSG)
Moving Marquinhos to central defensive midfield has been a ploy that Thomas Tuchel has used regularly to give his PSG side an extra layer of defence. However, the young Brazilian’s tenacity and excellent reading of the game paid off at the other end in this match for PSG. Marquinhos found himself in the right place at the right time to poke home PSG’s equaliser in the 90th minute.
Apart from his goal-scoring exploits, Marquinhos kept things simple in his midfield role for PSG, concentrating on winning the ball back and setting his teammates off on attacks throughout.
#2 Flop: Hans Hateboer (Atalanta)
Atalanta’s Dutch right-back has been one of their most consistent performers this season but was unfortunate in coming up against Neymar on this occasion. PSG’s Brazilian star consistently had the beating of Hateboer, with only his profligacy in front of goal preventing him from getting on the scoresheet.
Having given his all in an effort to keep PSG out, Hateboer’s energy finally seemed to run out in the dying stages of the game, with both PSG goals coming down his side. Hateboer failed to track the run of Neymar in the build-up to the equaliser, while it was Mbappe who got beyond him when the winner went in.
#1 Hit: Neymar (PSG)
It was a strange outing for the world’s most expensive player, who was unusually wasteful in front of goal but also happened to be PSG’s most potent attacking threat throughout the game. The Brazilian star embarked on many a mazy run over the course of the match.
PSG's talisman left several hapless Atalanta defenders in his wake as he bore down on goal, only to inexplicably shoot wide or straight at the goalkeeper.
However, having taken up a slightly more central position after Mbappe was brought on, Neymar seemed to have more influence on the game and came up trumps when it counted. It was he who snuck around the back to play the ball that led to PSG’s equaliser. And it was also his pin-point through ball that set Mbappe on his way to assist Choupo-Moting’s winner.
