PSG 3-0 Real Madrid: 3 Reasons why Los Blancos lost the match | UEFA Champions League 2019-20

In what was arguably the most anticipated fixture of matchday 1 of the Champions League, PSG hosted Real Madrid at the Parc des Princes in the second match of Group A.

Galatasaray and Club Brugge had played out a goalless stalemate in the earlier fixture, handing an opportunity of topping the group to either side that won the contest, and PSG ultimately triumphed in a 3-0 whitewash.

A first-half brace from former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria as well as a late Thomas Meunier goal in injury time condemned Real Madrid to their first defeat of the season and leaves Zinedine Zidane's men rooted to the bottom of the table.

Given the quality of players within the Real Madrid squad, it was expected that they would give a good account of themselves against PSG, but that failed to happen as the Spanish giants were blown away in the French capital.

In this piece, we shall be highlighting three reasons why Real Madrid lost to PSG.

---

#3 Los Blancos failed to make a mark in the final third

Having sat out Real Madrid's opening three fixtures of the season due to injury, Los Blancos' most expensive player in history finally made his long-awaited debut for Real Madrid when he was given a 30-minute run in the 3-2 victory over Levante at the weekend.

Eden Hazard was declared fit enough to start against PSG, and this saw Zinedine Zidane field the trio of Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema for the first time.

The three players are undoubtedly world-class and among the best in the business. Fans would have been excited at the prospect of seeing all three men in action, as they each possess the ability to unlock defences on their own, and their combination is expected to wreak havoc this season.

However, against PSG, Real Madrid disappointed, with their much-vaunted attacking trio failing to display their prowess in the game, and were largely ineffective in front of PSG's goal.

In total, they had 10 shots, but rather disappointingly, they failed to draw a single save from former teammate Keylor Navas, which was rather disappointing given the calibre of players on display for Zinedine Zidane's men.

Although they had two goals from Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale correctly ruled out for offside and handball respectively, it was a very lethargic and disjointed attacking performance from the record European champions.

A club the size of Real Madrid failing to register a single shot on target against PSG was disappointing, to say the least, and their lack of bite in attack played a major role in seeing them fall to defeat in Paris.

Also check out:Champions League Schedule La Liga Table Premier League Table

#2 Angel Di Maria was in inspired form

Di Maria scored a brace

From 2010 to 2014, Angel Di Maria represented Real Madrid with distinction and played a starring role in helping the club win their much-awaited La Decima in his final season with the club. He departed to Manchester United where he experienced mixed fortunes but rediscovered his best form since arriving at PSG in 2015.

Thomas Tuchel could not call on the services of Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe who were injured as well as star man Neymar who is facing a two-game suspension for comments made against the officials last season. But in the absence of the star trio, Angel Di Maria took the mantle and almost single-handedly dismantled his former side.

The Argentine put up a masterclass on display, scoring two goals to down Real Madrid. This feat made him only the third player in history to score a brace against both Real Madrid and Barcelona in Champions League history (after Porto's Mario Jardel and AC Milan legend Andriy Shevchenko).

The 31-year-old had three shots in the game, with two of those ending in the back of the net. He also made two key passes, attempted four crosses into the Real Madrid box and could have had a hat-trick if he had maintained more composure in the 54th minute.

On a night when Real Madrid's forwards faltered, Di Maria starred to show them what they were missing and Zinedine Zidane must have wished he had the former Benfica man on his books.

#1 A poor showing in all departments

Idrissa Gueye floors Karim Benzema with a solid tackle

While their attack might receive most of the stick in the defeat to PSG, the bottom line is that virtually every department in the team was substandard in the game.

Real Madrid spent in excess of €300m to bolster their squad during the summer, but they have looked eerily similar to the disjointed outfit that bumbled their way through last season.

In four La Liga games this term, Zidane's men have won just two and drawn the other two fixtures and even in the matches they won, they did not look convincing at all. It was only a matter of time before a quality opposition laid bare their deficiencies.

That opposition happened to be PSG, and while Real Madrid might have lost, the manner in which they did would have left a bitter taste in the mouths of Madridistas the world over.

Thibaut Courtois might have been unable to do much about any of the three goals he conceded, but the fact that the Belgian cannot buy a clean sheet if his life depended on it is worrying, to say the least.

Ahead of him, the newly recruited Eder Militao failed to impress on his full debut in the absence of Sergio Ramos and was responsible for at least two of the three goals conceded. Ferland Mendy did not effectively contain Pablo Sarabia on the flanks, while Idrissa Gueye absolutely bossed Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez in the midfield. As already touched on, their attack was blatantly impotent, with Eden Hazard being perhaps the worst of the lot.

Zinedine Zidane was ostensibly brought in to help steady the Real Madrid ship and given the requisite funds to augment his squad, but as PSG showed, his rebuilding is far from complete.