Paris Saint-Germain’s Ruthless 7-0 Victory Over Brest Seals Champions League Last 16 Spot
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) delivered a dominant performance on Wednesday, February 19th, crushing French rivals Brest 7-0 in the Champions League play-off second leg. This resounding victory secured a 10-0 aggregate win and a place in the Round of 16, where they could face either Liverpool or Barcelona.
PSG’s First Leg Advantage and Overwhelming Dominance
PSG entered the match as overwhelming favorites, and their 3-0 first-leg victory in Brittany had all but sealed their progression. The return leg at the Parc des Princes saw seven different players find the net for the home side. Bradley Barcola, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, Desire Doue, Nuno Mendes, Goncalo Ramos, and Senny Mayulu all contributed to PSG’s historic win.
PSG’s Record-Breaking Victory and Offensive Prowess
This 7-0 thrashing marked PSG’s largest-ever winning margin in a European game and their first seven-goal haul in the Champions League since a 7-1 victory against Celtic in November 2017. Notably, after scoring only three goals in their first five Champions League matches this season, PSG has since exploded offensively, netting 21 goals in their subsequent five outings. This dominant display occurred even with Ousmane Dembele, who had previously scored 18 goals in 12 appearances for Luis Enrique’s team, failing to add to his tally in this match.
Brest’s Inaugural European Campaign Ends in Disappointment
For Brest, this defeat marked a bitter end to their first-ever European campaign. After a historic third-place finish in Ligue 1 last season, reaching the Champions League knockout stages was a significant achievement. However, drawing PSG proved to be an anticlimactic matchup. Brest has not defeated PSG in 40 years and has now lost 19 of their last 20 encounters.
Match Highlights and Goal Breakdown
Early in the game, Brest nearly took a shock lead when a Mathias Pereira Lage shot was cleared off the line by Marquinhos. However, PSG quickly asserted their dominance, opening the scoring in the 20th minute. Barcola, positioned on the left flank, controlled a Fabian Ruiz through ball and beat goalkeeper Gregoire Coudert at the near post for his 16th goal of the season. Kvaratskhelia doubled the lead six minutes before halftime, scoring his second goal for the club after Barcola flicked on a low Joao Neves cross.
Neves struck the crossbar in first-half stoppage time, and Pierre Lees-Melou hit the post for Brest early in the second half, highlighting Brest’s fleeting moments of threat. However, Vitinha extended PSG’s lead with a beautiful strike from the edge of the box just before the hour mark. Ramos then displayed exquisite skill to set up substitute Doue for the fourth goal. Achraf Hakimi provided the assist for Mendes to tap in the fifth midway through the second half, and Ramos scored his ninth goal of the campaign from close range in the 76th minute. Abdallah Sima had a goal disallowed for offside before Kvaratskhelia teed up 18-year-old Mayulu to complete the scoring in the 86th minute.
PSG now awaits the draw on Friday to determine their opponents for the remainder of the Champions League competition.
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