Champions League Round of 16 leg 1: Real Madrid 3-1 PSG
Real Madrid complete the comeback and surpassed Paris in a very entertaining game. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace whereas Neymar Jr. was very quiet. Paris’s lack of experience was flagrant.
Lo Celso gave a way a penalty to Ronaldo right before half-time and the club conceded two goals in the last ten minutes. The disadvantages as we are heading to the second leg in Paris could be too much and synonym of another early exit in the competition, at Round of 16…
Real Madrid – Coach Zidane comments:
“This has been a great night. We can be satisfied with how the game went. We played well from start till finish. We kept hold of the ball and pressed them well. It was a great result and we’re happy”.
“We have to congratulate the team because it was their united front that got us the win. I think we deserved the win after the work we’ve done, all the preparations we’ve made. It was a case of great teamwork and once again they showed why they’re all important. The fans were key too. They kept pushing from minute 1 to minute 90, even when we conceded that goal”.
Zidane reminded also of the pedigree of Real Madrid:
“This club has 12 European Cups and that means a lot. this is such a prominent competition and we want to prove time and time again that this club values this. We showed it for the full 90 minutes.
We coped well, both with and without the ball. We defended well, with aggression and rhythm. The Champions League really has a place in this club’s heart. We played 90 stunning minutes against a top rival. That’s all that we’re concerned with. We have to turn our attentions now to the return leg, that will be entirely different”.
For PSG’s coach Emery, the club could still qualify:
“I’m happy with the way the team played. We had the game under control, and we stayed true to our principles. Our opponents were strong, especially on the counter. I think overall we dominated the game, we could have scored again to go ahead once more, especially if we had had some more favorable decisions.
We’re going to play the return leg at home, put them under a lot of pressure, and we’ll do everything to qualify in front of our fans.”
