Substitute Angel Correa scored a dramatic winner with the last kick of the game as Atletico Madrid snatched a 2-1 victory away to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, kickstarting their Champions League campaign and casting a large cloud over the French club’s European hopes.
It looked as if the game at the Parc des Princes would end in a draw after Warren Zaire-Emery’s early opener for PSG was quickly cancelled out by Nahuel Molina in the first ever meeting of the clubs.
PSG have been let down by their finishing in the Champions League all season and that was the case again here as they failed to convert a host of chances, but Atletico did not look like winning it until Correa struck in the 93rd minute.
The Spaniards would have been the happier of the two teams with a draw, especially as goalkeeper Jan Oblak had been forced into several second-half saves.
Having lost back-to-back matches against Benfica and then Lille, the win puts Atletico back on track to at least make the play-off round of this new-look Champions League, with the league phase now at the halfway stage.
“Today PSG played better but we had the extra force that we lacked against Lille,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone.
“We came here missing five players, we conceded a goal early on, but the team did not collapse.”
The evening was also notable for the pre-match unfurling by PSG fans at one end of the stadium of an enormous banner in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
“War on the pitch but peace in the world,” said the banner, which also featured a Lebanese flag.
That may lead to disciplinary action from UEFA, but that will probably be the least of PSG’s worries now.
‘Inexplicable’
They may be top of Ligue 1 but in the Champions League last season’s semi-finalists have just four points, despite playing three of their four games so far at home.
Having edged Girona 1-0 on the opening matchday and then lost 2-0 at Arsenal, the French champions have since drawn at home to PSV Eindhoven and now lost to Atletico.
They face a tough assignment next away to Bayern Munich and still have to play Manchester City, meaning their hopes of finishing in the top 24 places and qualifying at least for the play-off round must be in doubt.
“Without any doubt,” coach Luis Enrique admitted, adding that he felt the defeat was “inexplicable” and “unfair”.
“I don’t think anyone who saw this game could say it was a fair result,” he said. “With the run we are on I can’t guarantee that we are going to qualify.”
Luis Enrique’s side will need to quickly improve in front of goal having now scored just three times in their last six Champions League matches, a run stretching back to last season’s semi-final against Borussia Dortmund.
Atletico were missing two key defenders here in Jose Maria Gimenez and Robin Le Normand. Clement Lenglet therefore started at centre-back and he was at fault as PSG went ahead in the 14th minute.
Lenglet dithered on the ball in his own box and was dispossessed by Ousmane Dembele. He set up Zaire-Emery and the 18-year-old took his time before coolly clipping the ball over Oblak and in.
However, Atletico were level just four minutes later when a ball into the box by Giuliano Simeone came off a PSG defender and fell for Molina to fire in.
Atletico were then more than happy to soak up PSG’s pressure, and the hosts could not find a second goal despite ending the game with almost 70 percent possession and 22 attempts.
Oblak excelled in the second half with notable saves twice from Bradley Barcola, as well as one from a Marquinhos header and another to deny Achraf Hakimi.
Then came the third minute of injury time, in which Lee Kang-in was denied by the Atletico goalkeeper and Hakimi failed to convert the follow-up.
Atletico then broke downfield and the ball came to Correa who stroked a shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma to leave the PSG fans stunned.
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