There’s been a lot of whining and complaining by some on social media regarding Paris Saint-Germain’s behavior after defeating Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
The cause of the complaints center around PSG players mocking Dortmund forward Erling Haaland by copying his goal celebration.
PSG team mocking a 19 year old who scored two goals against them and celebrating the win as if they won the CL? The most immature and overrated team in Europe. https://t.co/6lgCIIXZo5
— hash (@hashim0307) March 11, 2020
Neymar did the celebration after scoring a first-half goal, the players gathered after the final whistle for a team photo where they sat with their legs crossed and “meditated,” and back in the locker room and on the balcony of the Parc des Princes they continued to have fun at the 19-year-old’s expense.
Neymar imitating Haaland’s celebration 😂 pic.twitter.com/DmUHPkSJ1Z
— Neymar Stuff (@NeymarStuff__) March 11, 2020
A lot of people dislike PSG and this was the ammunition they needed to try and take away from their thrilling and quite frankly unexpected win. Unfortunately, those people are blinded by rage and failed to realize why the players behaved in this way.
What I, a Norwegian, was doing at 19: figuring what uni to go to, trying to find a girlfriend and trying to find a meaning with my life.
What Erling Braut Haaland, a Norwegian 19-year old, is currently doing: triggering the whole of PSG. https://t.co/8kOqvAjB53
— Jonas Giæver (@CheGiaevara) March 11, 2020
After the match, Presnel Kimpembe spoke to RMC Sport (via beIN Sports) and explained why he and his teammates went to the lengths they did to prove a point against Haaland and Dortmund.
“They are great players, but I’m going to say it – they lost their humility.”
“Because, after they won at home, they did a lot of tweets, a lot of Instagram [posts], a lot of words, a lot of this and that. Whether it’s their sports director, the players, or the club’s official Instagram account, we all saw it. We kept that in our mind, and I think it all gave us a good boost.”
“It gave us this little rage. And it worked to our advantage.”
This morning, and it’s been like this for 3 weeks pic.twitter.com/GwV3J6MiiT
— Jean Mouk. (@jean_mouk) March 12, 2020
⚽️⚽️ Erling Haaland (19)
🅰️ Gio Reyna (17)"We don't buy superstars, we make them" – Lars Ricken pic.twitter.com/iiyE28YQx4
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) February 18, 2020
That rage led to Neymar Jr. scoring a diving header in the 28th minute and Juan Bernat doubled the lead in stoppage time right before halftime.
On defense, Kimpembe and Marquinhos played one of their best games ever in a PSG shirt. They completely silenced Haaland who admitted not having his fans in the stadium impacted him.
On the pitch, Dortmund pushed PSG to the brink of elimination and forced them to elevate their game. However, on social media, the Germans gave PSG the extra motivation they needed to pull out the win. You could see the determination on the PSG players throughout the match. They were flying into tackles and defending in a way that I haven’t seen all season. We can thank Dortmund for running their mouth for that.
This is a valuable lesson for Dortmund’s players and social media team for next season. Don’t write checks you can’t cash.
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