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After an unbeaten start to the season in LaLiga Santander, the Champions League provided a harsh reality check for Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
It’s a competition that Los Blancos have won in four of the last six seasons and they know full well how ruthless it can be.
Their campaign has gone downhill since the very first game away at Celta Vigo, where everything went to plan apart from Luka Modric’s red card.
Real Valladolid managed to take a point away from the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu before Villarreal were only denied a victory thanks to Gareth Bale’s late intervention.
Even a 3-0 lead at half time at home to Levante didn’t look secure and the visitors almost completed a sensational comeback in the end.
With Modric, Marcelo, Isco and Marco Asensio all out injured, Real Madrid lacked legs across the pitch against Paris Saint-Germain.
Eden Hazard was meant to lead the new project, but he barely made an impact on the game, with Bale the only one of the front three to impress.
Zinedine Zidane was forced into a midfield of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez which was run into the ground by PSG’s Idrissa Gueye and Marco Verratti.
The hosts were far from full strength too and had Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani all missing.
Without Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid were humbled in the same way they had been without their captain against Ajax in March.
European football can be incredibly ruthless.
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