Paris Saint-Germain’s Thomas Meunier earned himself a brace Wednesday, leading his side to a 3-1 win over Real Madrid at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Andrew Maniskas/The Pit
On a day where the heat index officially hit 103 degrees in Columbus, Ohio, the only thing hotter was Thomas Meunier’s feet. The Belgian scored a brace against current European Champions Real Madrid to lead his new club, Paris Saint-Germain, to victory in a thrilling 3-1 match at Ohio Stadium.
The 86,641 in attendance were treated to a thrilling first half where all four goals were scored. PSG’s attack seemed to be far more settled than Real as the French Champions spent most of the first half in the Madrid half of the pitch.
The tone of the match was set early as Jonathan Ikone broke down the Real Madrid back line, making a beautiful cut to the right of net and slotting the ball home far post past a diving Francisco Casilla to make it 1-0 PSG.
Real Madrid took about fifteen minutes to settle into the match with their first big chance coming in the 18th minute. Mateo Kovacic, mainly playing in the #10 role this evening, found a yard of space just outside the 18 and curled a shot toward the far post. The ball looked to be destined for the back of the net, but PSG goalkeeper Kevin Trapp got just a fingertip on the shot to push it away from target. The ball banked off of the woodwork and right into the keeper’s hands to end the threat.
After a couple of chances back and forth, Thomas Meunier announced his presence to his new club and supporters. In the 35th minute, the Belgian fullback intercepted a poor clearance from Raphael Varane, firing a shot from 25 yards out past Casilla who had zero chance to stop the shot. It’s the goal of the ICC so far, one that made the score 2-0.
Unai Emery talked briefly about Meunier in the post-match presser:
“First of all, he had a great match. With Serge, we are trying to create competition. That is the mentality that we want. We want a winning mentality where players compete for their positions. What we saw in this game was our two wide players playing well and providing strong competition fo each other.”
Meunier wasn’t done by a long shot. Five minutes later, Meunier earned his brace on a chance created by a PSG counterattack. Meunier’s initial attempt was parried away by both Varane and Casilla, but fell right to Meunier’s foot. The Belgian International calmly slotted the rebound home and Paris Saint-Germain had all but wrapped up the match at 3-0.
Real Madrid got on the scoresheet just before halftime as an Isco cross attempt was handled by Serge Aurier. Referee Hilario Grajeda gave the penalty straightaway with no argument from the French Champions. Marcelo’s ensuing penalty kick was perfect, finding the top right corner past Trapp, who still managed to get a hand on the shot. Halftime was called with the score 3-1 to Paris Saint-Germain.
While the first half was overall great for PSG, it didn’t come without a price. Captain Thiago Silva, one half of the first choice centerback pairing, injured his hip on a challenge inside the first ten minutes. It is unknown how serious the injury is but word out of the PSG dressing room is that he was uncomfortable leaving the stadium tonight.
The second half featured Real Madrid primarily playing their youth players, who mostly play for RM Castilla in the Spanish Third Division, including the likes of 17 year-old Martin Ødegaard. PSG countered with a mixture of first-team talent and some of their own youth, though the French giants had ten less men on the bench than their Spanish counterparts. Most of the second half was spent playing possession back and forth, with PSG happy to hold the ball o kill time while Real pressed the issue toward the end. Despite Real’s drive to cut into the deficit, the match would end the same as the halftime scoreline, 3-1.
Man of the Match Meunier talked about his performance and the future of PSG:
“First of all, I am sad because of Thiago’s (Silva) injury. I hope that it is not serious. He is our captain and a very important figure. Personally, I make a good start after coming on as a substitute and I am pleased that I managed to score two goals. We can still do better defensively but we coped in the second half. We were solid and Real did not create much against us. We put in a serious performance.”
Real Madrid midfielder Lucas Vazquez talked briefly through a translator about the atmosphere in Columbus and playing in front of a largely pro-Real crowd.
“The atmosphere was very good. It is great to see the game growing in this country and the fans were very, very good. Hearing them cheer for our goal was great.”
With the attendance tonight, Ohio Stadium set a record for a professional soccer match being played inside the hallowed grounds of Ohio State.
Thoughts on the match
- It’s hard to say what Real Madrid are going to look like. They were without Ronaldo, Bale, Modric, Kroos, Navas, and several other contributors to the first team.
- Paris Saint-Germain knew they had an advantage and exploited it almost immediately. With a full 90 minutes under their belt prior to this match, PSG pressed Real into oblivion into the first half and looked good doing it.
- Thomas Meunier’s performance tonight cannot be understated. He was dangerous in attack and defended fairly well against the likes of Isco and Morata.
- PSG needs Thiago Silva so here’s hoping that his injury is not that serious.
- Unai Emery’s system seems to be a natural fit for most of the players on PSG. Edison Cavani will have to get used to playing striker instead of the wing now that Ibrahimovic is in Manchester.
- It’s important to note that this is absolutely a preseason match for both sides, so the second half not having much action is not a surprise.
- The crowd tonight was fantastic in The Horseshoe. It was reported last week that there would be about 75,000 fans, so it’s obvious that a late surge in ticket sales helped push the number over 85,000.
