Two Late Goals Push PSG to the UCL Semis, Saints Knock Out Atalanta, 2-1

With two goals int he stoppage time, PSG eliminated Atalanta, making a superb comeback and shocking the rivals from Italy. The French champions reached the semis of the UEFA Champions League with a 2-1 win.

“When I came on, I thought to myself, ‘We can’t lose, we can’t go home like that.’ I was confident in myself, confident in the team, and then the rest is the history of Paris,” said Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who scored a game-winning goal for the Saints in the second minute of stoppage time.

Neymar passed the ball to Mbappe who rushed into the box on the left side, and then found Choupo-Moting in the goalkeeper area who didn’t have any problems to execute. The entire PSG team went on to celebrate, while Atalanta’s fell on the ground in despair.

Of all the people it's Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting who puts PSG ahead in extra-time 🤯🤯🤯

Seriously, what a time to be alive!#Club2020 pic.twitter.com/vSlHm8yxf4

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 12, 2020

Choupo-Moting would replace terrible Mauro Icardi, who not only played poorly but often slowed down PSG’s game and was irritating hos own teammates with bad decisions and reactions.

The replacements Tomas Tuchel made, were excellent, and the German coach saved the game after bringing in Choupo-Moting and Kylian Mbappe. The latter one made a difference since the moment of stepping onto the pitch. Before his entrance, Atalanta was defending all over the place, and PSG didn’t have a solution on how to find a way to the goal.

But with him on the left flank, the situation became much tougher for the Italians. Mbappe was all over the place, often leaving his guards far behind, and forcing the defense to stretch. In the end, the reward came, and his team advanced to the next stage.

Marquinhos, brought the equalizer in the 90th minute, with Neymar finding him in front of the goal following a pressure imposed by the Saints, which lasted for a few minutes.

It was the moment when Atalanta slid into a blackout, and when everything built during the entire campaign began to crumble.

“At this moment, it’s quite painful. Tomorrow, I will be proud of our team and club, but at this moment, I feel disappointment,” said Marten de Roon, Atalanta’s midfielder.

La Dea took the lead in the 27th minute with Mario Pasalic’s nice goal from the edge of the box. He would send the ball into the left upper corner of Navas’ net. Up until the halftime, the Italians were playing ok without a desire to defend. Still, once the second 45 minutes began, we witnessed the most efficient team in the top five European leagues backing out and protecting its own goal, for the first time this year.

Advantage Atalanta 🔵⚫️

Mario Pasalic curls in his 12th goal of the season to put the Serie A side ahead against PSG 🎯 pic.twitter.com/lHoBPo70OX

— Football Index (@FootballIndex) August 12, 2020

In general, the first 45 minutes were much more exciting than the second if we disregard the two goals. PSG had a couple of big opportunities for scoring, two of them missed by Neymar, who usually solves such situations routinely. The Brazilian was trying to move his team, but without any success. It was only in the second 45 minutes that he provided something, once paired with Mbappe.

“Nobody will ever get it out of my head that I want to go to the final. We’ll have to correct what we can and play another great game. We’re very happy and experiencing great moments. We’re a formidable squad, a family, with the attitude that it’s impossible to knock us out,” said PSG’s No.10 following the match.

The French champions are awaiting the better from Red Bull Leipzig vs. Atletico Madrid in the semifinals, and seem to be in a better part of the draw. The second pair will be between the winners of Barcelona vs. Bayern and Manchester City vs. Lyon.