Unai Emery must carry the can for PSG’s ‘unspeakable’ defeat at Barcelona | Eric Devin


By selecting Thiago Silva ahead of Presnel Kimpembe at centre-half the coach abandoned the meritocracy which was bringing progress at PSG and has lost more than just an extraordinary Champions League tie as a result

“The return of winter.” “The Parisian wreck.” “Unspeakable.” “A huge mess.” “The height of disillusionment.” The Parisian papers and France’s leading sports dailies were unsparing in their assessment of Paris Saint-Germain’s incredible 6-1 defeat by Barcelona. Conceding three goals in the final 10 minutes was a dismal end to the French side’s Champions League campaign, but to do it having secured a seemingly insurmountable first-leg lead was indeed unspeakable.

Losing by that margin alone was painful, but doubly so after how the visitors had come back into the match, particularly after the introduction of Ángel Di María. The Argentinian’s energy and aggression were key in generating a host of chances for Unai Emery’s side, but aside from perhaps Edinson Cavani, the players delivered almost uniformly poor performances.

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