The Champions League returned with a bang and the results in the past two days have been nothing short of shocking. Paris Saint-Germain did the unthinkable as the inspired Parisians annihilated Barcelona 4-0 at Parc Des Princes with a masterclass by Angel Di Maria. Benfica caused an upset over Borussia Dortmund as the Portuguese giants won 1-0 on their home turf.
Yesterday's European games saw Real Madrid put in a great shift as the defending champions overcame Napoli's resistance with a 3-1 win at the Bernabeu, while Bayern Munich humiliated Arsenal 5-1 at the Allianz Arena as Arsene Wenger's shocking run in the Champions League continued.
Let's take a look at the five moments that caught the eye in the Champions League this midweek:
#1 The best night in Paris Saint Germain's history
After spending £600 million under new owners, signing multi-million dollar players and building a cash rich team, PSG were third time lucky against Barcelona in the knockout stages. The Parisians got knocked out twice at the quarterfinals stage against the Catalans in recent seasons but are in a comfortable position after emerging victorious in the first leg with a resounding 4-0 win.
More than the scoreline, it was the way in which PSG outplayed Barcelona in every department that was impressive as the Catalans suffered one of their worst defeat in recent times. Barcelona were so poor on the night that Spanish publication, Marca refused to give eight of their players a rating after the game.
Unai Emery deserves credit for setting his team in a way that denied Barcelona any time on the ball as the former Sevilla's manager expertise in European competitions paid dividends for the Ligue 1 side. This PSG team played like potential cup winners against Barcelona and owner Sheikh Mansour may finally have found the missing piece in the jigsaw in their bid for European success.
#2 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's worst game of his career
Sportskeeda had predicted a tough away game for Borussia Dortmund but with the number of chances that the German side had, they should have left Portugal with the tie in their pocket. Dortmund's front three struggled but the Gabonese international, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the worst player from the visiting party. He had numerous chances to score for his side but most notably missed a spot-kick which would have levelled the game in the second half.
Along with the missed chances, his link up play was not up to mark, his runs were not timed right and he also did not show his usual blistering pace. After missing the penalty, he was immediately substituted five minutes later and had no one else to blame other than himself.
In his post-match press conference, Thomas Tuchel talked about his ace striker’s body language for being the reason for his substitution.
#3 Real Madrid's European expertise was on show against Napoli
After falling behind eight minutes into the game, Real Madrid got hold of the game quickly and started stamping their authority on the game. Karim Benzema levelled the scores and had enough chances to complete a brace in the first half itself. The second half saw a more emphatic performance from the hosts as Toni Kroos and Casemiro took the tie beyond Napoli as Real ended the first leg with a two-goal advantage heading to the San Paolo stadium.
Napoli played fearlessly but it was Real's shrewdness and work rate that got them through. Zidane was quick to capitalise on the Italian club’s weakness in the game where he instructed Ronaldo to play on the flanks and cut inside and also to use space available on the edge of the box.
These small details caused havoc in Napoli's camp as they succumbed under few, but well drilled Madrid's chances, though they had more clear-cut opportunities than the hosts.
#4 Arsenal's European naivety continues
Arsenal crumbled under pressure against Bayern Munich. Yet again. Laurent Koscielny limped off in the 49th minute and then a 14-minute blitzkrieg saw Bayern take an unassailable 4-1 lead. The first half was a closely fought affair as it ended with one goal a piece. The second half was an altogether different scenario; at the final whistle, the game ended 5-1 to the Bavarians and it looked like a game of men against boys.
Arsene Wenger said that his players were mentally jaded in the second half and termed the result shocking. But the onus has to fall on him and it won't be long before the ‘Wenger Out’ banners start popping up at the Emirates.
After the game, Rio Ferdinand slammed the Arsenal players of being spineless, while Martin Keown described this defeat as the lowest point of Wenger's career. Arsenal also became the first club to concede 200 goals in the Champions League era. Surely the tie is out of Arsenal's reach and it will be the same story for Arsenal since the 2010/11 – the Gunners bowing out of Europe in the round of 16 stage.
#5 A birthday to remember for Angel Di Maria
The Argentine has become the toast of the French capital after his sensational brace helped PSG to a historic 4-0 win over FC Barcelona. No team has overturned that deficit and the man of the match, Angel Di Maria celebrated his birthday in fine fashion. He scored a well-taken free kick for his first strike before curling in a beauty of a second goal to take the game completely away from the Catalans.
Di Maria revealed that his former teammates from Real Madrid congratulated him on his performance as he said, "I lived by the 5-0 defeat by Barcelona to Madrid and finished with the face today that they had finished with." The Argentine had a disastrous spell with Manchester United two years ago but has put that behind with the 29-year-old, already scoring eight goals this season.
