• Chronicle.Neymar and Mbappé rescue PSG

In April 2019, Eric Choupo-Moting (Hamburg, 1981) entered the history of PSG for delaying the alirón in Ligue 1 by avoiding a goal from his own team. Against Strasbourg, the German-Cameroonian drowned out his teammate Nkunku's shout of celebration as he stopped his shot, on target, on the very goal line. A striker taking a goal ball out of the opponent's goal. The biggest blunder seen in a long time on a soccer field that spread like wildfire on social networks. "I hope that everyone who insults me has found peace and happiness," he responded to the mockery, after asking for forgiveness in public. Last Wednesday the reason why her name assaulted the networks was very different.

His goal in the 93rd minute gave PSG a pass to the semifinals of the Champions League, a round that had not been reached for 25 years. The last time was in 1995, against Fabio Capello's Milan. "We couldn't go back to Paris like this, not with this exceptional team , " the striker confessed to the attentive and smiling gaze of Thomas Tuchel , who found a savior in the player who could least think.

Choupo-Moting, a German but international for Cameroon, trained at Hamburg, played three seasons at Mainz and as many at Schalke 04 before making the leap to the Premier. After a season at Stoke City , on the horn of the 2018 summer market, he signed for PSG for two years.

It was an express request from Tuchel, with whom he had met at Mainz. Despite having Neymar and Mbappé , the coach wanted a relief for Edinson Cavani . The choice of a striker in Paris was surprising, although he arrived with the freedom card, he had only scored five goals with a team that had just been relegated. Some were already booking him a spot on Sheikh Al-Khelaifi's list of the worst-performing signings of the era.

Choupo-Moting accepted his role. He participated in 32 games, but only scored three goals in his first campaign at the Parc des Princes. In the last year, his scoring average has risen to six goals in 18 games , including the one he made against Atalanta, the first he achieved in the Champions League.

Before the Italians came the opportunity for redemption that he no longer expected. The round of 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund saw it from the stands. He was not registered for the final phase of the competition and his mind was already thinking about what his next destination would be, at 31 years old and with a contract that ended on June 30. However, the coronavirus pandemic gave him a truce.

The club offered him to extend his contract and, like Thiago Silva or Sergio Rico , he said yes. At stake was the possibility of being European champion, an option that Thomas Meunier and Cavani ruled out . His losses made him a place on the European list for the final phase. And his moment came in the throes of a match that smelled of tragedy. He participated in both goals and took a glory that even Neymar gave him, giving him his MVP award of the match.

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