Choupo-Moting rescues PSG - Atalanta collapse after 90 minute lead
Paris Saint-Germain have advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League. On Wednesday night, the Ligue 1 champions beat Atalanta 2-1 in the most dramatic fashion.
For 90 minutes, it looked like the side from Bergamo would continue their fairytale run in the Champions League. Le Dea took the lead in the 26th minute, Duván Zapata lost the ball at the edge of the box, but PSG could not clear the situation and Mario Pasalić scored with a wonderful curled finish from 15-yards.
The result put the game on its head. Neymar alone should have given PSG the lead in the first half. The Brazilian missed the first of three chances in the third minute when he broke into the box and only had goalkeeper Marco Sportiello to beat but he ended up missing the wide-open target. Then two minutes after Atalanta took the lead, Neymar missed another glorious opportunity, and then finally in the 42nd he completed a hattrick of glorious missed opportunities.
PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel reacted and brought on Kylian Mbappé in the second half. With the French superstar on the field PSG took complete control but despite an abundance of chances could not break down a well organized Atalanta side.
The Italians, however, were seemingly exhausted and as the clock ticked down fell deeper and deeper into their own half. But despite the obvious exhaustion by the Serie A side, it took a lucky punch for PSG to finally get on the board. In the 90th minute, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting crossed the ball from the left inside the box where Neymar spotted Marquinhos and the Brazilian defender equalized from short-distance.
With the game level, Atalanta collapsed and just three minutes later Choupo-Moting became the hero when he scored the winner for Tuchel's side. Neymar spotted Mbappé on the left, the Frenchman raced into the box and found Choupo-Moting, who scored with an easy tap-in goal.
- Date of birth/Age:
- Mar 23, 1989 (35)
- Nat.:
- Current club:
- Bayern Munich
- Contract until:
- Jun 30, 2024
- Position:
- Centre-Forward
- Market Value:
- €3.00m
- Total Market Value:
- €1.02bn
- Competition:
- Ligue 1
- Position:
- 1.
- Manager:
- Luis Enrique
- Squad size:
- 30
- Latest Transfer:
- Gabriel Moscardo