Wenger blasts stupid PSG after City collapse

Poor discipline, an unforgivable lack of concentration and low confidence combined to complete Paris Saint-Germain’s undoing in Wednesday’s home defeat at the hands of Manchester City. Strong words were spoken by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who slammed his compatriots.

Paris were looking really good in the first half and were ahead by a goal at the break, but a six-minute blackout saw them concede two poor goals, including a Riyad Mahrez free kick that flew through their wall. Arsene Wenger finds this inexplicable.

"From the defenders turning their back, it’s between Paredes and Kimpembe. Why do you lie a guy on the ground if the guys in the wall open the wall? I personally believe that the second goal is not acceptable for that level. It’s not the first time you see players turning their back. City took advantage of that."

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Taking the foot off the gas pedal was unacceptable according to Wenger. Paris were dictating the tempo of the match for nearly an hour, but then they simply stopped and allowed the English team to find their feet at Parc des Princes.

"In the second half, Paris Saint-Germain was protective, not progressive any more. Is it because they were not physically capable? They did not have the same availability. After the 1-1 they collapsed completely. They became emotional and aggressive in a stupid way."

After last season’s Champions League final defeat, PSG set winning the competition their main goal again. But, after a long time, their dominance in the French championship is gone. They have been dropping too many points all season, resulting in LOSC Lille leading the race. The Parisians are well aware that they aren’t unbeatable anymore and, according to Wenger, it’s showing in the European competition.

"What was very interesting tonight is that you could see that when it was 1-1, PSG mentally collapsed. This is as well the consequence of this team losing eight games in the league. This has an impact in this kind of situation. When it’s 1-1 the team knows they have lost many games, they carry that. It’s not like the season before when they were unbeatable in the league. You could see the confidence drop considerably. The mental impact when Man City equalised in the semi-final of a Champions League was too big."

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It ended up being a nightmarish match for PSG. They were also reduced to 10 men in the second half as Idrissa Gueye was given a straight red card for a nasty challenge on Ilkay Gundogan.

Not all is lost, though. They will have another go in Manchester in the second leg next week. It won’t be easy, but it was never going to be.