PHOTO: Thiago Silva Appears Ready to Work Rather Than Sulk After Being Dropped for Real Madrid Clash

Champions League hopefuls Paris Saint-Germain were knocked back a peg in the first leg of their round of 16 bout with Real Madrid, after a late Cristiano Ronaldo double helped see off the chance of an away victory. 

PSG took the lead through Adrien Rabiot, but Ronaldo responded twice and was followed up by Marcelo to make it 3-1 to the home side. 

PSG captain Thiago Silva was not on hand to help his side in this tough away fixture, after he was dropped to the substitutes bench. The Brazilian took to Instagram to express his disappointment in not being selected.

"I hope that God will help me to improve," reads Silva's post on his Instagram story. 

According to the Metro, the 33-year-old was 'incredible surprised' to hear the news that he had been dropped for the Madrid clash. 

Fellow Brazilian Marquinhos, as well as young French centre-back Presnel Kimpembe were picked ahead of Silva for the game. A gamble which perhaps did not pay off as PSG return home empty-handed. 

Or perhaps it was a tactical decision to drop Silva. The 22-year-old Kimpembe started when PSG won 4-0 against Barcelona last season. Thiago Silva replaced the Frenchman for the second leg, in which PSG famously collapsed and lost 6-1.

(You may also be interested in4 Things We Learned From Real Madrid's 3-1 Champions League Last-16 Win Over PSG)

Les Parisiens will now have to wait until March 6 to try and salvage their chances of progressing to the Champions League quarter-finals. They do have the advantage of an away goal, which would mean that a 2-0 result at home would be enough to see them go through. 

Thiago Silva now has a few weeks to prove his worth once again and show that he is worthy of starting in that crucial second leg. PSG were considered one of the teams to watch who could go all the way in this year's competition, but are now in danger of being knocked out at this early stage.