ethernetacademy.netA Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) supporter has raised eyebrows among soccer fans after committing an assault in another country ahead of a match.
“A PSG fan punched a member of the public as he marched through the city before the start of a Champions League match,” British media outlet The Sun reported on Friday.
PSG lost their 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage second leg match against Newcastle by a shocking score of 1-4 at St. James’ Park in Newcastle, England on Friday.
PSG, which is challenging to win the 2023/24 Champions League, was drawn in Group F alongside AC Milan (Italy), Newcastle United (England), and Borussia Dortmund (Germany) in the group stage draw, making it the “Group of Death” of the competition. While it’s hard to say that any of the three clubs are better than PSG, it’s also hard to say that they are far off.
Bundesliga giants Dortmund finished second in the league last season after a fierce season-long battle with Bayern Munich, only to see the Bavarians come from behind to win the title. Italian Serie A giants and seven-time Champions League winners Milan reached the Champions League semifinals last season before falling to ‘Milanese rivals’ Inter Milan in the final. Newcastle finished fourth in the Premier League last season, fueled by the Middle Eastern capital, and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 21 years.
PSG traveled to Newcastle for the second leg after a 2-0 first-leg win over Dortmund on March 20. As one of the favorites to win the competition, it was expected that PSG would have an easy time of it away from home, but it turned out to be quite the opposite.
PSG made an early mistake and Newcastle, desperate for Champions League football, capitalized on the opportunity to take the lead. In the 17th minute, Marquinhos’ pass was intercepted by Bruno Guimarães at the front of the penalty box and found Isaac. After Isaac’s shot was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, Miguel Almiron rattled the PSG net with a left-footed finish.
Newcastle added another goal quickly. In the 38th minute, Almiron dribbled his way to the right side of the PSG penalty area and drew a foul on Theo Hernandez to earn a free kick.
The free kick appeared to be headed into the box by Isaac’s head and a defender’s foot, but Donnarumma made the save. Then, a Guimarães cross was headed home by defender Dan Byrne and it looked like it had crossed the line, but the referee checked the video assistant referee to see if it was offside, and it was, giving Newcastle a two-goal lead.
PSG conceded a further goal early in the second half. Five minutes into the second half, Sean Longstaff found himself in space behind the PSG defense after a penetrating pass from Trippier, and he immediately unleashed a powerful right-footed shot that found the body of Donnarumma and rattled the PSG net.
Hernandez pulled one back 11 minutes into the second half after a sharp pass from Warren Zaire-Emericka, but the momentum had already shifted to Newcastle, and Mbappe’s subsequent spell on the pitch was to no avail. In the 40th minute, Mbappe received a pass from Bradley Barcola just inside the arc of the Newcastle penalty box and immediately attempted a mid-range shot that went into the side netting instead of the goal.
A crucial second-half counterattack opportunity also eluded Paris. In a counter-attack that began with an interception by Barca in the 41st minute, Mbappe drove into the penalty area and drew defenders to himself before playing a cut-back pass to Vitinha at the top of the box, whose direct mid-range effort sailed over the bar.
After holding off PSG, Newcastle added a late consolation goal in stoppage time. Fabian Schurrle, who had kept Newcastle at bay, played a two-on-one with Jacob Murphy, and his hard strike from the right side of the penalty box arc found the corner of the net beyond the reach of Donnarumma for Newcastle’s fourth goal. The game ended in a 4-1 win for Newcastle, who scored four goals at home, leaving PSG fans devastated at a shocking defeat rather than a disappointing one.
The loss to Newcastle dropped PSG to second place in the group. Newcastle, who held PSG at home following their draw against Milan, moved ahead of PSG at the top of Group F as the match between Milan and Dortmund ended 0-0 at the same time.바카라사이트
Meanwhile, after the game, a video surfaced on social media that stunned fans. Before the game started, a video was released of a PSG fan slapping a man on the street for no apparent reason.
“The PSG Ultras marched through the city center towards St. James’s Park,” explained The Sun, “and the public watched them pass by, and unfortunately, one man fell victim to an assault.”
“One PSG fan approached the person filming them and punched him in the head without warning,” the outlet said. “There were also reports of clashes outside the stadium, including bottles and plastic cones being thrown, and PSG fans scuffling with police who formed a barrier between away and home fans.”
The fans were presumably unhappy that they were being filmed, but the fact that they didn’t say anything about it and started the assault raised eyebrows.
After causing a stir before the game, the PSG fans lost both the game and their manners as their club struggled to get anything going against Newcastle.