With a hat-trick from Dembélé, Paris reach the play-offs for the last sixteen!
In a match in which they outplayed their opponents in every department, Paris Saint-Germain secured their place in the play-offs for the last 16 of the Champions League with a 1-4 win away to Stuttgart. Here's a look back at the Rouge et Bleu's superb performance in Germany!
A week after their stunning 4-2 victory over Manchester City at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain were back in the Champions League for the final round of matches. The Rouge et Bleu headed to Germany and Stuttgart with the aim of clinching a ticket to the final phase. Luis Enrique lined up a central defensive pairing of captain Marquinhos and Willian Pacho to protect Gianluigi Donnarumma's goal. Lucas Hernandez occupied the left side of defence, while Achraf Hakimi started on the right. In midfield, Vitinha was supported by João Neves and Warren Zaïre-Emery. The Parisian forward line was made up of Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola.
From the outset, the Parisians showed themselves to be superior to their opponents, with a relentless commitment to every ball. And from the first corner of the game, Désiré Doué guided Ousmane Dembélé's cross beautifully to Bradley Barcola at the far post, who headed home to open the scoring (0-1, 6'). The home side then relied on Chris Führich to try and break the deadlock, but Gigio Donnarumma pulled off a fine save to keep Paris in front (16'). It was a decisive save, especially as it allowed his side to launch a counter-attack and Vitinha to send Barcola clear of the German defence. The French winger wasted no time in setting up Ousmane Dembélé, who doubled the lead from close range (0-2, 17')!
Within a quarter of an hour, the Rouge et Bleu's fiery spirit had cooled the warm atmosphere of the Arena Stuttgart. And there was no sign of the capital club slowing down. Waves of Parisian attacks followed waves of attacks on the VfB goal, and Bradley Barcola, once again, caused havoc down the left flank before feeding Désiré Doué perfectly at the far post: the Parisian No14 then made Fabian Bredlow shine, who denied Paris a third goal when the ball was just inches from crossing the line (31'). But if the German keeper thought he was keeping his team in the game, he had no idea what Ousmane Dembélé was up to on the right wing. He made light work of Maximilian Mittelstädt before crucifying the Stuttgart keeper with a right-foot shot (0-3, 35')!
The German side began the second half on a better footing, but the Parisians once again proved formidable, and Ousmane Dembélé scored a hat-trick when he found the top corner with his right foot after being set up by Achraf Hakimi (0-4, 54'). That was enough to quash any semblance of a VfB revolt. Despite the pace gradually slowing, Luis Enrique's men continued to play their game and control it with an iron fist. As the final quarter-hour approached, Fabián Ruiz and Gonçalo Ramos went close to adding to the scoreline. The Spanish international took advantage of Ousmane Dembélé's movement to receive the ball on the left side of the box, before crossing hard for the Portuguese centre-forward, who was unable to push the ball into the back of the net (73').
Moments later, it was Stuttgart who found the net through Mittelstädt, who broke down the left flank before crossing for Chris Führich, forcing the Parisian rearguard to intervene and ultimately to concede (1-4, 77'). But it was not enough to make the Rouge et Bleu doubt themselves, who dominated and applied themselves until the final whistle, confident of victory and qualification for the next round!
We will have to wait until Friday to find out whether AS Monaco or Stade Brestois 29 will be Paris Saint-Germain's next European opponents. In the meantime, the Bretons will be the capital club's next opponents on the domestic stage, with a trip to the Stade Francis Le Blé on Saturday as part of Ligue 1 matchday 20.