Paris Saint-Germain, leaders of Ligue 1, go to Santiago-Bernabeu, Wednesday March 9, for their round of 16 second leg of C1 against Real Madrid. If the French club won in the first leg (1-0), it was only their second success in their last eight matches against Madrid with 3 draws and 3 defeats.
Saturday March 5, Paris Saint-Germain fell on the lawn of OGC Nice at the very end of the match (1-0). Four days before their knockout round of the Champions League return against real Madrid, the Parisians were not reassured. Especially when you know that the capital club has not won in Madrid since 1994.
Lionel Messi, the return to the Bernabeu
This time, the Parisians have Lionel Messi in their ranks, who has often lit up Barça’s evenings at the Bernabeu. Except that he has not scored in the Madrid lair since December 2017. A lease. At his side, Kylian Mbappé, who scored the only goal in the first leg in added time, could once again sparkle. Hit in the left foot Monday morning in training, Kylian Mbappé is part of the group of 24 players summoned.
Paris has been counting on its star since the removal of the away goal rule, which considerably increases the chances of extra time. Because Real is no longer penalized as much by the fact of not having scored at the Parc des Princes.
In the first leg, Real Madrid showed up at the Parc des Princes in full doubt. Carlo Ancelotti’s team had won only one of their last four matches and Karim Benzema, diminished, had not been decisive. A void now forgotten. Since then, the French international has scored in all three matches played by Real Madrid. And the Merengues won all three games: 3-0 against Alavès, 1-0 at Rayo Vallecano, 4-1 against Real Sociedad. And the Parisians?
PSG, in search of a first European title
Three days after beating Real, Neymar and others came up against a successful Nantes team (1-3). PSG has 1 win, 2 losses since the first confrontation against Real with 4 goals scored and 5 conceded.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti and his players need to prove to their home crowd that they are still relevant, not just in Spain, as La Liga leaders currently eight points clear of Sevilla. In 2013/14, Ancelotti led Madrid to the much-awaited ‘Decima’ – the club’s 10th Champions League crown – only to be sacked the following season. Then, Zinedine Zidane had brought three more in the bag of the people of Madrid.
Real Madrid remains a big chunk for PSG, in search of a first European title, despite the victory in the first leg. In the meantime, the Parisians can ponder this statistic: the Spaniards have won only seven of their last 15 European home matches (5 losses), even if they have won in six of the last eight matches (one defeat).