Paris Saint-Germain manager Unai Emery spoke confidently of his side’s preparation and talent ahead of Wednesday’s round of 16 first leg clash with Real Madrid in the Champions League.
“Our preparation began after the game at the Camp Nou,” Emery said to the media gathered at the Santiago Bernabéu Tuesday night after training.
“We have spoken little but very clearly about those moments. I think we are better prepared to compete at this level .”
It is a good thing the Parisians feel better prepared than a year ago as you will recall the side from the French capital squandered a 4-0 lead in the first leg to lose 6-1 (6-5 on aggregate) to FC Barcelona.
While the blown lead will hang with the name Paris Saint-Germain for decades to come, there are a few new faces in the PSG squad which make this a very different, more dangerous team than 2017.
Neymar Jr. was, of course, on that Barca team which managed the improbable comeback as the Brazilian forward scored two goals in the dying minutes to help his former club through to the quarterfinals.
He and Kylian Mbappe will hope to wipe that recent embarrassment from the minds of European football fans Wednesday night against Real Madrid.
“Every competition is important,” Emery said. “But the Champions League is special because is it the hardest competition to win in the world. But the players joined Paris to play in matches like the one tomorrow, against the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and to show what we can do.”
Emery is wary of the threat the ‘BBC’ posses to his defense and after having to defend the coveted ‘MSN’ of Neymar, Messi, and Suarez, last year, the Spanish manager likely knows what his side need to do to stop the pace of the forwards.
“I plan on facing Madrid’s best and I am sure that, just as our XI will be our best possible, they will do the same. I cannot imagine that any of the ‘BBC’ won’t be in the starting line-up. It is true that they can change their system depending on their line-up and we have worked on all options that our opponent possesses.”
PSG was very good in the group stage losing just one match (their last to FC Bayern Munich 3-1) and scoring a Champions League record 25 goals in their first six matches.
Through 25 games in league play, Paris is 12 points ahead of second place AS Monaco and have suffered just four blemishes in domestic play with two draws and two losses.
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Emery finished his press conference by saying, “We are aware of every difficulty from this game that we may face. I’m motivated and hope to witness a great PSG performance.”
Real Madrid will without a doubt have their hands full Wednesday night and if PSG can continue to play like they have in the league and the group stage, the Real defense will be tested all night.