Neymar's absence opens the door for in-form Di Maria to hurt Real Madrid 

Valentine’s day 2017 marked the worst best game of Angel Di Maria's career.

It was arguably the most scintillating individual performance of Di Maria’s career, as he led PSG to a stunning 4-0 dismantling of FC Barcelona at the Parc des Princes, scoring highlight-reel goals in either half of the 1st leg round of 16 clash.

But it was also the worst, because it ultimately proved insufficient.

Sixty-two minutes into the second leg, the Argentine celebrated Edinson Cavani’s vital away goal by exuberantly shushing the Camp Nou faithful. The gesture proved to be premature, as Barca went on to earn a stunning 6-1 victory to advance on aggregate.

In the end, it was Di Maria, and not the Cules, who trudged out of the stadium in silence.

Deja vu?

Now, just over a year later, the winger will hope to do to his former club Real Madrid, what he couldn’t quite do to Barcelona.

The former Rosario Central prodigy was inexplicably left on the bench for the entirety of the 1st leg at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, as the defending champions ran out 3-1 winners.

Adding insult to injury was the fact that PSG coach Unai Emery didn’t even bother to use up all three substitutions.

In the aftermath of the game, Di Maria bit his tongue and kept his annoyance to himself, but his wife bore no such scruples, taking to Instagram to lambast Emery.

However, the serious ankle injury suffered by Neymar this past weekend — not to mention Kylian Mbappe's own ankle woes — means Di Maria will certainly start the 2nd leg, barring a gobsmacking act of self-sabotage on Emery’s part.

Neymar has been ruled out of the Round of 16 2nd leg clash between PSG and Real Madrid, and will likely miss the remainder of the season.

El Fideo (“The Noodle”) has been in fine form since the turn of the year, and is PSG’s top scorer and assist-giver in 2018. He scored in each half of the Parisiens’ 3-0 victory over historic rivals Marseille in the Coupe de France midweek, before bagging the opener in the 2-0 win over Troyes in Ligue 1 action Saturday.

Neymar's loss could be Di Maria's gain

News of Neymar’s injury will surely have prompted an increased sense of optimism in the bars of Madrid and the bleachers of the Bernabeu, and with good reason.

Neymar is quite simply PSG’s best player, and one of the very best players in the world.

However, the fact remains that the Brazilian superstar could not translate his dazzling skills into sufficient end product in the 1st leg.

On several occasions, the 26-year-old picked up the ball and dribbled past half the Real Madrid team on his own. And on several occasions, the lightning-fast Kylian Mbappe and ruthless Cavani were left waiting for passes that never came.

Madrid’s defenders had a tough task containing Neymar, but they also knew that this was the task they could focus much of their energies on, given the Brazilian’s tendency to dominate nearly every forward foray.

There is no scenario in which PSG are better off without their best player, and it would be silly to suggest that his injury is a blessing in disguise. But it’s fair to surmise that his absence will force PSG to play as more of a team unit in the 2nd leg.

And few footballers meet the definition of “team player” quite like Di Maria.

During his final season in Madrid in 2013-14, the Argentine was shunted out of his preferred attacking role by the arrival of Gareth Bale.

But he willingly adapted to an unfamiliar central midfield role, where his tireless energy, coupled with the unbalancing dribbling that is his bread and butter, made him one of Los Merengues’ most important players as they marched to their long-awaited Decima.

No points for guessing who was anointed UEFA's Man of the Match in that final.

Di Maria was named UEFA Man of the Match for the 2014 Champions League final, which saw Real Madrid defeat Atletico Madrid 4-1

Madrid fans will no doubt celebrate seeing a Neymar-less starting lineup at the Parc des Princes, but Zinedine Zidane’s charges will be more cautious. They, better than most, know what Di Maria is capable of when he’s at his best.

Real Madrid would be wise to be cautious

The Argentine’s mazy dribbling, and that wand of a left foot, can surely hurt the 12-time champions. His willingness to combine with his teammates could also contrive to make PSG’s attacks more distributed, and more difficult to predict.

Moreover, his off-the-ball hounding should prove helpful when PSG look to press in midfield.

It’s no secret that Real’s Brazilian defensive midfielder Casemiro is a liability when his team try to play out from the back. Lesser players than Di Maria have been able to pressure Casemiro into giving up possession in the defensive third.

Meanwhile, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric are both nursing injuries, and will not be in peak physical condition even if they’re ruled fit to play.

Di Maria’s pace and defensive awareness could also prove useful in defensive transition, what with Zidane’s men likely to spend long periods of play trying to soak PSG’s attacks before springing into counterattack mode.

Footballing considerations aside, more superstitious Madridistas will feel a familiar sting of anxiety at the sight of a former player determined to end their Champions League run.

Real have some previous experience in this regard, be it Fernando Morientes’ starring role with Monaco in the 2004 semi-final, or then-Juventus man Alvaro Morata’s goalscoring effort at the Bernabeu in the 2015 semi-final.

It again bears repeating that PSG are not better off without Neymar, just as Real Madrid could never be better off without Cristiano Ronaldo or Barcelona without Lionel Messi going into a big Champions League clash.

But Di Maria brings a different array of weapons, so Madrid should still be worried — just, differently worried.

At the very least, Madridistas would do well to learn from Di Maria’s mistake at the Camp Nou last season, and resist the temptation to celebrate too soon.