Madrid have only managed to turn the score around in one of the last ten Champions League qualifiers in which they arrived at the Bernabéu at a disadvantage. With the change in UEFA rules, the Whites would have enough of a goal difference to send the game into extra time. Now the duels have two parts of ninety minutes. One of the keys to the match is the availability of Kroos, of whom Ancelotti has commented that “if he is 95% he will not play”. The hypothetical substitution of the German would make Madrid only keep Luka Modric as a structural piece in the middle of the field, as Casemiro, like Ferland Mendy, is out for sanction. Neither will Sergio Ramos, whose injuries have only allowed him to take part in five games this season. “In Paris we were not able to play what we had set out to do, and when we suffered the most it was with their pressure,” explained Ancelotti. The loss of Kroos, a key pillar in the white ball exit, will be an added difficulty in this tactical chapter.
“It doesn’t matter if we score at the beginning or at the end,” said the Madrid coach, adding that “in the first leg we saw the best PSG, but in the return leg we will see the best Madrid”. In Paris, the whites simply survived to reach the Bernabeu with options to advance to the quarterfinals. There are no rules written in Madrid’s roadmap to victory: the only important thing is to win. In the first leg, in fact, the Madrid players did not even shoot at goal. Marco Verratti, on the other hand, has made clear the French game proposal. “We can’t dedicate ourselves to defending because it’s not our game and we wouldn’t know how to do it,” said the Italian midfielder.
I understand that Mbappé is applauded. ”
Carlo Ancelotti Real Madrid coach
“I would like to applaud Mbappé, because the Bernabéu has always received great players like that,” said Ancelotti. Madrid want to convince the Frenchman with a comeback, but Messi and Neymar will be in charge of preventing it. The Argentine, whose performance in the first leg The Team rated with a 3 because he missed a penalty, almost 700 minutes ago he does not score against the whites. Laporta already said that the decision not to renew it was “the saddest” he had taken but that he did not regret it. In Paris, Messi aims to win back a Champions League he has not lifted since 2015, and is doing so as part of a trident that for Mauricio Pochettino is a double-edged sword. It is, at the same time, the main offensive threat and the main defensive weakness. His effervescent defensive commitment will determine what PSG’s options are in Europe, a competition that will crush you if in doubt.
The casualties of Casemiro and Mendy make it easier to work in the Paris attack. However, if the French defend in defense, they will feel the claws of one of the teams that best counterattacks. Vinicius, who is living his best season, is the player with the most vertical drives in Europe and the second most haggling. His best partner, Benzema, fully recovered from the discomfort, has 20 goals in the league, the same as Messi, Neymar and Mbappé, together, in Ligue 1.
Madrid want to continue writing their magic story in Europe to go round and convince Mbappé that there is no better project to lead. PSG, on the other hand, will try to turn the hypothetical ticket to the quarter-finals into the beginning of the paradigm shift in the Champions League.