The 3 biggest keys to victory for Real Madrid vs. PSG in the second leg
1. Smart linkups, quick and precise decision making in the final third
Real Madrid had a lot of things not going their way when they took on PSG away from home in the first leg. They were arguably in a bad run of form domestically too. A major reason is Karim Benzema’s unfortunate absence. But, times have changed since then and Real Madrid has won all three of their games since that loss to PSG in the Champions League. No team has been able to breach the Madrid defense in open play, only Mikel Oyarzabal of La Real scored a penalty past Thibaut Courtois, the only goal they’ve conceded in the last three games.
Karim Benzema is back to being the player that he is. He clearly forced his return against PSG for an important game and was poor throughout the 90 minutes as the world-class forward could create absolutely nothing. But, he has been in heart of all Real Madrid goals since then. First, he assisted Marco Asensio for a worldie against Alaves before leading an attacking move as good as you’d ever see to help Vini Jr. score his goal. Then he dispatched a penalty expertly. He scored another penalty in the game against La Real and got another namesake assist for another worldie from Luka Modric. Against Rayo, he was the main man again as he produced the winning move and the resulting goal from a Vini Jr. assist.
Real Madrid’s forwards are in tremendous touch and that is going to be vital against PSG. Carlo Ancelotti has spoken about keeping the press intact and that means quick ball wins and lightning-quick breaks are on the cards for this game. Real Madrid needs to produce such moments of brilliance as they did in the last three games. They’ll have to be sharp and accurate in the final third.
For the very same reason, I think Ancelotti will start Marco Asensio in this one. While Rodrygo Goes is an attractive option, his effectiveness in the final third was a huge letdown in an otherwise good performance against La Real.
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Real Madrid’s priority is scoring goals for this one. And, Asensio is the kind of player who can influence them or score them on his own. Early goals could be the decisive element in this game considering how good Real Madrid has lately been in defense. The same could be further helped if Kylian Mbappe isn’t ready to play a part in the biggest game of the season. Without him, PSG is basically an ineffective unit attack-wise, the game against Nice should be a good example.