On Wednesday night, PSG defeated Atalanta 2-1 in the first of the Champions League quarter-finals at the Estadio da Luz. The game featured a dramatic finale, as the French giants equalised on 90 minutes before scoring a 93rd-minute winner through the unlikely source of former Stoke star Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
Overall, PSG arguably deserved to progress past an impressive Atalanta side, who have done Bergamo proud with their distinctive brand of football this season.
They harried and hassled their big-spending opponents and it took the introduction of superstar Kylian Mbappe from the bench to force the breakthrough.
🆒🔥🏆 #ATAPSGThe joy of our Parisians after this crazy meeting 🙌❤️💙 #WeAreParis pic.twitter.com/tgkzcZcH5q— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 13, 2020
🆒🔥🏆 #ATAPSGThe joy of our Parisians after this crazy meeting 🙌❤️💙 #WeAreParis pic.twitter.com/tgkzcZcH5q
Heading into stoppage-time it looked like PSG had once again ‘bottled it’ in the Champions League knockout stages. The comeback win over Atalanta and defeat of Dortmund in the round of 16 may prove the turning point in what has become a monkey on the back of the French giants.
The Champions League has been the one competition everybody connected with the club has longed to win for since the club's takeover by their Qatari owners.
Incredibly, despite all the money spent on superstar players, PSG had failed to make the last four of the Champions League since 1995.
There seemed to be a psychological block that hampered their chances of winning Europe’s elite trophy. In recent years, they have suffered elimination at the hands of Barcelona and Manchester United, among others, after seemingly heading into second legs in control of the ties.
The fact that they had the mental strength to come back from a first-leg defeat against Dortmund before Wednesday’s result proves that the French team may finally now have the mental strength to win the Champions League.
PSG will find out later today who their semi-final opponents will be, from either RB Leipzig or Atletico Madrid. The French side will need to improve from Wednesday night’s display, but if they can maybe they can end their wait for the trophy they have craved for close to a decade.