Are PSG the ultimate Champions League bottlers?

There was Neymar, stood on the touchline, not involved and unable to stop what was happening before his eyes. The architect of the last collapse, he could only take this one in.

Since 2011, when the riches of the Gulf dropped dropped on their doorstep and changed the club forever, Paris Saint-Germain have only had eyes for one prize. Forget Ligue 1, the Coupe de France or any other trinket. More than anything, they have quested for the Champions League.

And on Wednesday night, they saw the possibility of winning it disappear again, courtesy of Manchester United, VAR and a Marcus Rashford penalty.

In doing so, they became the first team to exit the Champions League after holding a two-goal lead from a first leg held away from home. Rather than taking advantage, they fell apart again when the pressure was on.

Immediately minds turned to 2017, when they took on Barcelona. Again, it was the last-16 and again, a record was set. Barcelona had been beaten 4-0 in Paris. No team had ever overturned a scoreline that big in a second leg.

PSG even responded to a strong Barcelona start, scoring a crucial away goal in the 62nd minute.

Somehow, though, with PSG leading 5-3 on aggregate in the 88th minute and Barcelona needing three goals to go through because of the away goals rule, the French giants fell to pieces.

Then it was Neymar who led the charge for his former side in what has become known as the Remondata. He scored twice in three minutes before setting Sergi Roberto up for the late winning goal.

So PSG responded. If you can't beat him, make him join. They broke the world transfer record to pluck Neymar from the Nou Camp and he arrived at the Parc des Princes with all of the fanfare that a £198million signing deserves.

But he has simply not had the desired impact. Sure, PSG are 17 points clear at the top of Ligue 1. That is not the competition they care about. It presents about as much of a challenge to them as a stroll in the park would to Mo Farah.

Take 2016-17, for example, when Monaco managed to beat them to the title with a generation of bright young talents. PSG went and signed Kylian Mbappe, the best of the lot, while the vultures picked at the rest of the carcass. Come at PSG in domestic competition and you best not hit, miss or even come close to landing a blow.

They dominate there but continuously struggle in Europe. PSG have not gone past the quarter-final stage of the Champions League since 1995, when IFK Gothenburg and Hadjuk Split also made the last-eight. In the time since 1995, Panathinaikos, Leeds, Deportivo La Coruna, Dynamo Kiev, PSV Eindhoven, Villarreal and Lyon have all reached the last-four.

Putting aside the time before Qatar Sports Investments threw money at the project, there has simply not been a good enough return since. In the last three seasons they have exited at the last-16 stage. Even Leicester went further.

Neymar has instead dipped in and out of form. He picks up injuries at crunch times of the season — usually the February-April window when the top honours start to take shape. His place on the touchline spoke for the fact it is growing clear he does not deserve to dine at the same top table as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Instead he seems to be part of the same model that sees PSG take to the pitch in 'Jumpman' branded kits in the Champions League — Nike using the Air Jordan symbol to give them even more pizzazz.

PSG's badge has also been included in fashion shows, tends to crop up whenever Paris Fashion Week rolls around and they even sell BAPE hoodies in the club shop.

The focus is always on names. That includes those that appear in the stands. Which other club attracts Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid to games, as they did in 2015?

The names on the pitch are also more important than team cohesion. PSG gave arguably the biggest name in the sport's history, David Beckham, a place to retire with no real sporting reason behind it.

Sure, they have now Neymar and Mbappe, but why were one of the richest teams in Europe lining up with an aged and failing Gianluigi Buffon in net, the abysmal Thilo Kehrer in defence and the non-entity that is Julian Draxler as a forward?

This lack of thought process is why the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Unai Emery and Thomas Tuchel have all failed to do anything of real note in the job. Emery and Tuchel in particular are tactical thinkers. How can they do that when they have to mesh together such a disparate collection of individuals?

It goes back to Neymar. This has all been built around him. Stood on the touchline, he looked appalled as his team collapsed again. On Instagram, he ranted and raved at the decision to award the penalty. Yet he was not on the pitch.

Instead, he had to stand and look at the works and despair. PSG will do so for a long time until their next shot appears. They will hope next time they have the bottle.