The fairy tale of Atalanta Bergamo is out. The club from a provincial town with 120,000 inhabitants could dream of the semi-finals of the Champions League for 89 minutes. But Neymar Junior, with two assists, won the Parisians in extremis. On August 18, PSG will play against Leipzig or Atlético Madrid for a place in the final.
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The “Final Eight” in Lisbon, an unreleased tournament to finish the Champions League 2019-2020, immediately sparked fireworks. Atalanta held his own against the millionaires of Paris Saint-Germain for 89 minutes. Until Neymar Junior, with assists for Marquinhos and Choupo-Moting, put the finishing touches.
In the first half, Neymar seemed to be crowned anti-hero. The Brazilian did play a hell of a match and was involved in five flawless chances. He always did everything right, except for the finish. Face to face with goalkeeper Marco Sportiello, he always aimed (far) wide. The one time he aimed within the frame, for a free kick, Sportiello reacted thoughtfully.
Trainer Thomas Tuchel, are only wrapped in a brace, and Kylian Mbappé, who was less than ninety minutes after his ankle injury, devoured their proverbial cash in the stands. And the frustrations were compounded when France international Presnel Kimpembe carelessly defended Zapata and Croatian Mario Pasalic beat Keylor Navas for 1-0. Previously, Navas should have responded to opportunities from Gomez and Hateboer.
–Photo: AFP
Mbappé comes in
In the second half, Tuchel Mbappé pitched in to score the tying run. The French prodigy threatened three times, but his shots lacked conviction and strength to shake Sportiello. That other top striker, Mauro Icardi, barely appeared in the piece.
The end seemed to be painful for PSG. Keylor Navas had to be replaced injured. As if the Costa-Rican, once three times victorious with Real Madrid in the Champions League, not of this team underachievers wants to be a part. The shutdown would have been blistering. The Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport calculated that Neymar alone earns as much as the Northern Italian team, which has been identified as one of the initiators of the corona crisis. During the match in Valencia, countless people would have been infected.
But just when PSG got desperate, and Red Devil Timothy Castagne had stepped in with the Italians, fate turned. Marquinhos tapped in the equalizer twenty seconds before the regular time to force extensions, in the added time the substitute Choupo-Moting still managed to score 1-2. Not Atalanta, but PSG will play the semi-final of the Champions League on August 18 against the winner of the RB Leipzig-Atlético Madrid game that will be played tonight.
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