PSG faces uncertain future following Champions League flameout

By Doug McIntyre
Published

Paris Saint-Germain's wait for its first UEFA Champions League title will continue for at least another year.  

Despite a star-studded squad led by global icons Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé — who were crowned the top two players in the world at last week's gala FIFA Best Awards — PSG couldn't overcome a 1-0 aggregate deficit Wednesday at Bayern Munich, losing the decisive match of the round of 16 home-and-home 2-0 on second half goals by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Serge Gnabry.

Bayern advanced Wednesday alongside AC Milan, which held Tottenham Hotspur to a scoreless draw away from home following a 1-0 first leg victory last month. Portugal's Benfica and Chelsea booked their tickets to the round of 16 on Tuesday, beating Club Brugge of Belgium and Borussia Dortmund of Germany, respectively. The remaining eight knockout stage participants will wrap up their two-leg series March 14 and 15.

Here are three quick thoughts on the week's matches, plus a look at where things stand on the other side of the bracket.  

Champions League futility continues for Paris Saint-Germain  

For the second consecutive year, France's marquee club didn't even reach the last eight. It's hard to feel too sorry for the Parisians, given the bottomless pockets of its owners. Still, the draw dealt them dreadful hands both this year and last, when PSG narrowly fell to eventual champ Real Madrid at the same stage.  

PSG might have been slightly unlucky over the two games, no more so than when Vitinha's shot was cleared off the line by defender Matthijs de Ligt Wednesday with the game still scoreless in the second half.  

Losing Neymar, their other resident superstar, to season-ending ankle surgery earlier this week, also didn't help. Yet it's not why they lost. Bayern were better, way better, in both games. Mbappé and Messi did next to nothing over the two legs. Neither did the rest of the roster, with the possible exception of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Three years and one Messi after reaching (and losing, to Bayern) their only European final, PSG seems no closer to capturing the only trophy they truly care about. 

Now questions abound. Messi, 35, still hasn't signed a contract extension and could be headed for Miami instead. It's possible that this was the last Champions League appearance of his otherworldly career. Neymar could also leave this summer. Despite surprisingly opting to say in his hometown last summer, so could Mbappe if he and Real could rekindle their years-long flirtation with one another.  

The future is anything but clear for PSG following another too-early exit. All we know for sure is that the club's wait for European glory will last until at least until 2024.

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Tottenham has no answers for AC Milan 

Chelsea overcame a 1-0 first leg loss to eliminate Dortmund, but Spurs couldn't match their London rival's feat from 24 hours later, a scoreless stalemate at home Wednesday sealing their elimination following the Rossoneri's 1-0 triumph in Italy last week.  

As in Wednesday's other match, the result was no fluke. Milan outshot Antonio Conte's team both on-target and overall. They owned most of the possession away from home. Cristian Romero's red card with 12 minutes of regular time remaining seemed to end any chance that they might break down the visitors' and find the goal they needed, although they did come close to sending the series to extra time.

As in Paris, Tottenham also faces an uncertain path forward. Getting back to the continent's top club competition and surviving the group stage after a one-year Champions League absence isn't nothing, but that final appearance in 2019 suddenly seems longer than four years ago. Antonio Conte is reportedly leaving. The club's hold on a berth for next season is perilous; Liverpool sits three points behind Spurs for the final spot and has game in hand.

Harry Kane remains a target of the genuine contenders; if Spurs isn't involved in the Champions League next year, could he be tempted to be the missing piece for one of them? In failing to manage even a single goal against an opponent few believe has a legitimate shot at glory this year — this is Milan's first trip to the quarters in more than a decade – Tottenham showed it isn't anywhere close.  

Who could pull an upset next week?  

The final four round of 16 games seem straightforward enough. Liverpool needs a miracle if it's to overturn last month's wild 5-2 loss to Real Madrid at Anfield during next Wednesday's rematch in Spain's capital. Despite Sunday's 7-0 drubbing of Premier League nemesis Manchester United, this isn't the same Reds team that erased a 3-0 loss in Barcelona on the way to the 2019 title.  

Not only is Napoli unlikely to squander a two-goal advantage at home to Eintracht Frankfurt a miss out on the club's maiden quarterfinal trip, the runaway Serie A leaders also look capable of making a serious run at the double. The outcome of the other two matchups is less certain. Manchester City settled for a 1-1 draw away to Germany's RB Leipzig and should take care of business at home, but all the pressure will be on the hosts. City is desperate to finally go all the way this year after coming close the last two years. Losing at this stage isn't really an option for Pep Guardiola & Co., which could keep things interesting.   

Porto has perhaps the best chance of pulling an upset, thanks in part to UEFA's decision to do away with away goals this season. Inter Milan took the first match 1-0 in Portugal and while it's the favorite to close the deal, there are still 90 minutes left to play.  

That's more than PSG or Tottenham can say.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.

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