UEFA Champions League: Paris Saint-Germain collapses after last-minute defeat against Atlético Madrid – “No soul, nothing organic”

TNT Sports expert Rory Smith was scathing in his analysis of Paris Saint-Germain following their UEFA Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid, describing the French champions as “soulless”.

Warren Zaire-Emery, the teenage midfielder, had given the home side the lead in the 14th minute, but they were pegged back just four minutes later when Nahuel Molina equalized for Atleti before Correa struck.

This means that the Ligue 1 champions have only managed one win in the first four league phase games of the Champions League, with a narrow victory over Girona on matchday one.

However, PSG, still reeling from the summer departure of their talismanic Kylian Mbappe, sit six points clear of second-placed Marseille at the top of the French league.

But they continue to struggle on the continent and TNT Sports' Smith believes their problems lie in a lack of consistency.

“I wonder if there isn't – it sounds cliché – but there is no soul,” Smith said on the TNT Sports Goals Xtra Show.

“They tried to bring together Desiré Doue, Bradley Barcola and a team representing Paris, but they all come from different areas.”

“Then there is Fabian Ruiz in midfield; there is no consistency. Whereas if you look at Barcelona, ​​it’s being built on the backs of a lot of kids who have been playing together since they were eight, nine or 10 years old.”

“The exact same messages have been drilled into them, while PSG are trying to build a team on the fly. They're all expensive and talented players, but you just wonder if there's nothing organic there, so (there is) nothing to fall back on when times are tough.”

Joe Cole, a pundit for TNT Sports, explained the winning goal Correa scored in the dying embers after an all-out counterattack by Atleti and said the mistakes Paris were making were the same as always.

“Atletico Madrid were fantastic, they really performed at PSG tonight,” said Cole.

“But PSG, if you look at the goals – they just keep kicking themselves, don’t they? They do everything right, then they make mistakes. They have some kind of self-destruct button that they push.” ​​That's really a schoolboy's defense.

“There were a lot of problems but I think this goal perfectly sums up PSG in this era and if I were the owner I would be angry because it's the same mistakes year after year. There's so much talent, but.” There's something in the air at PSG that they can't solve.

“It's the mentality, the attitude, the belief – it encompasses everything that has made PSG as a club over the last five, six, seven years. They tried everything until they found a group of players who can handle this kind of pressure. “In better situations they won't win the tournament.

PSG sit 25th in the league table outside the play-off places and visit Bayern Munich in their next game before traveling to RB Salzburg.

They then host Manchester City, who suffered a heavy defeat against Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday, in the French capital on the penultimate matchday before their final away game in Stuttgart.