Dembélé’s hat-trick sends PSG soaring into playoffs and Stuttgart crashing out
Dembélé’s hat-trick sends PSG soaring into playoffs and Stuttgart crashing out
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If Paris Saint-Germain were grasping for a playoff safety net just over a week ago, they ended up flinging themselves into it gleefully. Perhaps the new-look Champions League really does serve the big guns as intended: the illusion of serious jeopardy had been vivid before the sprawling final match-day kicked off but PSG, having given the neutrals their fun, swiftly made a mockery of it in Stuttgart. Just as they had in destroying Manchester City, they looked a side whose sparkling attack could yet make a push for the latter stages. It was a performance that scorned suggestions they would fail at the 36-team format’s first hurdle.
![[Bradley Barcola puts PSG ahead against Stuttgart.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/dd17cc90f93ccda24cac34d624673e26e00bdd2e/0_116_5135_3082/master/5135.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Ousmane Dembélé’s exceptional hat-trick would have felt all the sweeter to the forward given he was booed throughout this game, presumably for his Borussia Dortmund connections. More pertinently, it was a reminder PSG have retained plenty of proven quality despite the departures of their superstar names. Bradley Barcola, who set the ball rolling before Stuttgart could gather breath, was unplayable and offered a blistering vision of the new generation’s capabilities.
Both players were helped by a desperately open Stuttgart, whose approach bordered on naivety. A draw would have sent both teams through and, though nobody would ever dare utter the sentiment, perhaps a measured, agreeable affair could have satisfied everyone. But if the home side would have settled for a biscotto, all they ended up with was a soggy mush. They needed to tighten up for a while after falling behind so early but instead they were exposed repeatedly and left devoid of hope well before half-time.
