Lionel Messi's PSG lacked desire to win against Real Madrid, says India goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan

The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 stage was full of twists and turns last week, as some shocking results were witnessed. Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) bottled a 2-0 lead against an experience Real Madrid side.

The thirteen-time European Champions made a comeback in the 2nd leg against PSG, beating them 3-2 on aggregate. The hosts were down to 2-0 aggregate in the first half but Karim Benzema's hat-trick at the Santiago Bernabeu knocked PSG out. Given PSG's performance in the UCL, fans were not happy at the Parc des Princes. Fans booed seven-time Ballon d'Or holder Lionel Messi and Brazilian star Neymar. 

Indian women's goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan, who is a former Premier League side (West Ham) player, said that PSG clearly lacked the desire and passion to win it for their club. 

"I feel it's pure desire and passion to win that gets the job done, and it was the clear difference between the two teams. It's not about whether Messi is world-class or not, if a player doesn't show passion. PSG lacked leadership and they bottled the game being 2-0 up."

Also talking about the Real Madrid midfield she said, "Every year we rule their mid-field out because they're old but every they turn up and prove us wrong. Luka Modric's performance, given the age he is, clearly showed his desire for winning and passion for his club, those are the two departments where PSG lacked and lost the game."

Talking about favourites for the title, Aditi believes that England champions Manchester City can win it this year and she gave equal weightage to German giants Bayern Munich who are also on a hot-streak of winning games. 

Lionel Messi exits since last winning the #UCL:

2022: 1-3 Real Madrid
2021: 1-4 PSG
2020: 2-8 Bayern
2019: 0-4 Liverpool
2018: 0-3 Roma
2017: 0-3 Juventus
2016: 0-2 Atletico pic.twitter.com/X02t5VPhwA — Adriano Del Monte (@adriandelmonte) March 9, 2022

Checkout the details to watch the UEFA Champions League live in India:

Watch UEFA Champions League 2021-22 (Round 16 – 2nd Leg): LOSC vs Chelsea – LIVE on SONY TEN 2 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) & SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels on March 17, 2022, from 1:30 am IST.

Watch UEFA Champions League 2021-22 (Round 16 – 2nd Leg): Juventus vs Villareal – LIVE on SONY TEN 1 (English) channels on March 17, 2022, from 1:30 am IST.

Aditi Chauhan is one of the panelist of Sony Sports Network during the ongoing UEFA Champions League.