PSG facing uncertain future following latest Champions League failure

Christophe Galtier, the manager of Paris Saint-Germain, had a long list of alibis for the hard questions he faced after another disappointing night in Europe. PSG had been unfortunate with so many senior players absent at key times, Galtier said in rainy Bavaria. The French champions’ back line, in particular, had been repeatedly disrupted.

PSG had just lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich, a result that took the aggregate score from their Champions League tie to 3-0 in Bayern’s favour, sending the German club striding into the quarter-finals.

For the second year in succession, PSG have failed to pass the first knockout barrier in the most esteemed club tournament. They have now accumulated 11 seasons on the trot fielding one of the most expensively assembled sides in the competition and their return is just one final, lost to Bayern in 2020, and a series of dispiriting exits.

“We are disappointed,” said Galtier, “I know how important the Champions League is to PSG. There is a huge expectation, and we shouldn’t underplay that. The big regret is that we weren’t able to do battle with all our best resources over these two legs.”

Galtier had been without Neymar, who will miss the rest of the season recovering from ankle surgery, for the Munich leg, and without Kylian Mbappe, because of injury, for the first hour or so of the first leg.

Presnel Kimpembe, the France international central defender, was also ruled out on Wednesday, as was, with 36 minutes on the clock, captain Marquinhos. When Marquinhos went off feeling discomfort below his ribs, he was replaced by Nordi Mukiele in a back three that already had Danilo, nominally a midfielder, on the right-hand side.

Mukiele then got injured, and for the second half - when Bayern scored through Eric Choupo-Moting and, late on, Serge Gnabry – 17-year-old El Chadaille Bitshiabu made his European debut for PSG in the fierce cauldron of Munich’s Allianz Arena in a team obliged to chase two goals and risk exposing their defence.

These are legitimate excuses, but they in turn pose their own questions about how PSG focus their recruitment. Galtier made use of Warren Zaire-Emery, who turned 17 on Wednesday, in both legs, and while the midfielder is a thrilling prospect for the future, he might wonder if, at a club that makes so many statement signings in attack, he will have room to grow

PSG made Neymar football’s most expensive transfer, at €222 million, in 2017. They committed a record-breaking contract to Mbappe last year. They united Lionel Messi with those two when Messi, against his desires, was told by Barcelona he had to leave Camp Nou in 2021.

Among the painful ironies of the defeat by Bayern is that it was strikes from Kingsley Coman – a product of PSG’s youth system but allowed to depart at 18 – in the first leg, and Choupo-Moting – who played a major part in pushing PSG to their only Champions League final during his two-year spell there – that drove Bayern past Mbappe, Messi, Sergio Ramos, Gigio Donarumma, Marco Verratti and company.

For all their champion calibre – Messi and Ramos have eight European Cups between them, Mbappe a World Cup; Donnarumma and Verrati were part of Italy’s Euro 2020 gold-medal side – PSG failed, as Galtier said, “to capitalise when we were at our best”.

In Munich, Vitinha had a fine opportunity to level the aggregate score in the tie, thanks to a goalkeeping error from Bayern’s Yann Sommer. Vitinha’s shot was just weak enough to allow Matthijs De Ligt to reach out and clear it off the goal-line.

After that, Mbappe was adequately policed by his compatriot Dayot Upamecano and by Josip Stanisic, and Messi kept quiet. If Galtier is justified in pointing out some key missing parts over the course of the tie, so would Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern’s coach.

Stanisic played because Lucas Hernandez is injured and his fellow French World Cup winner Benjamin Pavard was suspended. Sommer is in for the injured Manuel Neuer. Sadio Mane was deemed fit enough only to come on in the second half.

And Bayern still racked up a three-goal winning margin, inflicting on PSG a fifth last-16 phase exit in seven seasons. In the previous four, Real Madrid (twice), Barcelona and Manchester United had trailed in the ties before exposing a brittleness in their opponents. This time, PSG never really got started.

Galtier, their third manager in as many years, must fear his term in charge may be over before he can start again, in September, on trying to lift the gloom that follows PSG through the competition they most covet.

Greatest of All Time

Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan

Director: Venkat Prabhu

Rating: 2/5

What is the FNC?

The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

Gorillaz
The Now Now

Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?

George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.

Hunting park to luxury living

Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds