Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 Atletico Madrid
Thomas Tuchel’s PSG finally got an ICC 2018 victory after the PSG vs Atletico Madrid clash resulted in a 3-2 win for his French Champions. But it was a late show.
Fans at the Singapore National Stadium had enjoyed a competitive game with both teams looking for goals, but the defences were on top until the fantastic last 20 minutes presented four goals including a stunning last-gasp winner from PSG’s young forward Virgiliu Postolachi.
Tuchel’s defence hasn’t looked particularly solid so far at the ICC, conceding eight goals in two games but you don’t usually expect an Atletico defence to be leaky, even though several of their stars are yet to join pre-season.
So the PSG vs Atletico Madrid odds didn’t expect over 3.00 goals, but both teams played with attacking intent and in the end the floodgates opened.
Highlights of the game
Angel Di Maria was one star already back from Russia 2018 and he was in a lively mood in the opening exchanges, forcing a save with a low shot in the seventh minutes. PSG’s Giovani Lo Celso also had his shot blocked and at the other end of the pitch Kevin Gameiro came close for Atletico and that set the tone of the game.
Di Maria and Lo Celso continued to probe but it was Christopher Nkunku who broke the deadlock on 32 minutes, converting from close range to give the Parisiens a deserved lead. That made it two in two games for Nkunku having briefly brought PSG level in the 5-1 thrashing by Arsenal at the weekend.
Luciano Vietto and Antonio Moya tried to haul Atletico back into the game before the break but their efforts came to nothing.
PSG made a raft of substitutions at the start of the second half including Timothy Weah, the son for former PSG star and now President of Liberia George Weah. His introduction would always make PSG vs Atletico Madrid news and as he looks to emulate his dad, on the football pitch anyway, he’s sure to make plenty of headlines.
Weah almost made an impact within minutes of his introduction, first shooting just wide and then having his second effort well saved.
Joaquin Munoz and Gameiro both came close again for Atletico but the game really came alive in the final twenty minutes.
And it was PSG who went 2-0 ahead with Weah again in on the action, setting up Moussa Diaby to fire a low accurate shot into the corner from just outside the box.
But that just lit the blue touch paper and Atletico came roaring back, forcing Jean Cristophe Bahabeck to concede a corner. And from the resulting dead ball kick Victor Mollejo shot smartly into the corner to half the deficit.
Another corner almost brought the scores level when the ball landed at the feet of Mikel Carro but he blazed his shot wide. Then Borja Garces was unlucky not to equalise but when the Atletico goal came it was with an element of fortune as poor Antoine Benede put through his own net to make it 2-2.
To their credit, both teams tried to push for a winner and it went PSG’s way in the second minute of added time, much to Benede’s relief! Bahabeck teed up Virgiliu Postolachi, just outside the penalty area and the young striker unleashed a beauty of a shot into the top left corner.
Key statistics
That’s much better for PSG, finally getting a win after two disappointing defeats, 3-1 to Bayern Munich and then the thumping at the hands of the Gunners.
Atletico now have a draw, winning on penalties against Arsenal, and a loss in this thriller. So there’s plenty for Simeone to be pleased about with his young stars, and plenty to work on.
Tuchel’s team deserved their win, dominating the game with 61 per cent possession and 22 shots to 16. Conceding three is unusual for a Diego Simeone side but his defence did work very hard, blocking seven PSG shots.
And France’s superiority was also in evidence in their control of the ball, enjoying 89 per cent passing accuracy compared with Atletico’s 81 per cent.
As their World Cup stars all return these teams will feature heavily in our SBOBET tips in the new season, we expect big things of both.
What’s next?
That’s PSG’s three games in the ICC done while Atletico returns home to Madrid where Inter Milan will be the visitors to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
In the meantime; maybe it’s off to Raffles Bar for a Singapore Sling for the PSG boys before their pre-season preparations continue!
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