Ligue 1

Mbappe to Real Madrid latest, and more

Mbappe to Real Madrid latest, and more

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PSG’s comeback against Barcelona last week was superb, and in many ways arguably more impressive than La Remontada of 2017, because PSG just blew Barca away, rather than through any major refereeing controversy. I’m sure there will be a debate about the referee’s role in it, especially after Xavi’s comments after the game, but it doesn’t feel at all the same level as the Remontada of seven years ago, so I don’t buy that argument about Barca’s elimination from Xavi and his staff.

I think, overall, Luis Enrique got his game plan and his starting XI absolutely correct. I think the fact that he didn’t make a substitution until the final ten minutes shows that he absolutely nailed his team selection, which he didn’t do in the first leg, and I think that was a huge difference.

Achraf Hakimi being available again made a big difference, as it meant Enrique didn’t need to re-jig his defence again like he did in the first game – he took his team selection back to basics and it made a lot more sense than some of the decisions he made in the first leg, and consequently PSG put in a very good performance.

It’s important to remember that PSG started very well and that Barca scored their goal against the run of play. Ultimately, PSG’s dominance of the game had them where they deserved to be over the remainder of the game – they ultimately created the better chances. Of course Barcelona had a few more chances as they chased the game and Marquinhos made some important interventions for PSG, but ultimately there was only one team that deserved to win that second leg.

For PSG to turn it around the way they did, not only after losing the first leg at home, which is not something we see often – the last 25 teams to do so in the Champions League haven’t been able to turn it around – but then to go a further goal down as well, that speaks volumes for the team spirit that Enrique has created in this group. I think PSG are now made of much stronger stuff than in the past.

Bradley Barcola was really impressive, playing brilliantly in the second half of the first leg and for most of the second leg. Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha also shone across both matches, so those were some of…

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