As expected, Real Sociedad once again started the match by imposing very high pressure. In front, little surprise. At kick-off, Ousmane Dembélé was positioned in false nine, with Mbappé on the left side and Bradley Barcola on the right. On the other hand, Luis Enrique had learned the lesson of the first leg by once again positioning Vitinha in number 6, just in front of the defense. An organization that has had its effect. Although they pressed high from the start, Imanol Alguacil’s players quickly understood that the scenario of the first leg was not going to be able to repeat itself. After his cropping by Luis Enrique, Kylian Mbappé was much sharper on his left side. Zubielda will be able to testify to this.
But it was above all the hybrid repositioning of Dembélé which posed a lot of problems for the Basques. The former Blaugrana was the free electron of this match and by often going down to the middle to touch the leather, he brought an interesting surplus allowing the Parisian midfield to be well stocked. Strongly disrupted in the first leg, PSG this time mastered the debates with responsiveness in the duels, very clean ball exits and above all significantly more dangerous actions to their credit. In the first period, apart from the header from Nuno Mendes (7th), Takefusa Kubo’s partners hardly had the opportunity to set fire to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s cages. Opposite, Mbappé once again proved that he knew how to be impervious to criticism and pressure. After a first shot off target (4th), the Bondynois could have been a decisive passer if Remiro had not pulled out all the stops against Barcola (10th).
Paris back in 1/4, three years later
The Basque goalkeeper, on the other hand, was unable to do anything against the 2018 world champion’s festival concluded with an unstoppable curl to open the scoring (0-1, 15th). A powerful strike which caused several minutes of stoppage time for the small net to be repaired. A quarter of an hour later, the double was not far away, but this time, Remiro was able to save number 7’s attempt on a cross from Barcola (29th). Accused of not giving his all for his last months with Paris, Mbappé provided a very clear response in this first period. The only downside of these first 45 minutes was the yellow card received by Achraf Hakimi after a foul on Galan. A warning which will deprive him of the quarter-final first leg. Returning from the locker room, a new surprise on the Parisian side with the exit of Bradley Barcola and the entry into play of Kang-in Lee. Which did not really change the appearance of the match. Despite a few small bursts of Basque pressure, Paris remained dominant.
Stronger technically and comfortably installed in their playing system, Beraldo’s partners, very good this evening in the axis of defense, never trembled. Better still, they took the break by treating the Aneta spectators. After a high-level ball release, Lee launched Mbappé deep on his left side. Fast as a rocket, the Bondynois went to crucify Remiro (0-2, 56th). Qualification for the quarters was validated. Barrenetxea thought he would save his team’s honor with a header, but he was flagged offside by the VAR (63rd). The end of the match was more choppy, but the essential is there for PSG despite Merino reducing the score at the end of the match (1-2, 89th). Three years later, the Rouge et Bleu are back in the top 8 of the Champions League.
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