Paris Saint-Germain faces Real Sociedad on Wednesday evening in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League. The current 7th in Liga seems well within the reach of the Parisians who have avoided the heavyweights, but Kylian Mbappé’s teammates remain on two eliminations in a row at this stage of the competition.
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PSG returns to the European scene on Wednesday February 14, facing Real Sociedad at the Parc des Princes in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League. On paper, the Parisians are favorites against a Basque team described as one of the weakest at this stage of the competition.
Since 2011 and the arrival at the helm of the QSI (Qatar Sports Investments) club, the capital club has never suffered a poor performance in direct elimination matches against smaller players: Valencia in 2013, Leverkusen in 2014, Dortmund, Atalanta Bergamo and Leipzig in 2020.
On the other hand, apart from a few exceptions, the Parisians have very often been eliminated by C1 big names: Barcelona 2013, 2015 and 2017, Chelsea 2014, Manchester City 2016 and 2021, Real Madrid 2018 and 2022, Bayern 2020 and 2023, Manchester United 2019.
Mbappé on the pitch
PSG will certainly have to travel to the return match, on March 5, to an opponent who has shone so far with their defensive strength (best defense in the group stage) and still finished ahead of Inter Milan in the group. D, but the task is well within the reach of Kylian Mbappé’s teammates.
Especially since the Basque club, 7e of La Liga, is decimated by injuries. Six players are absent: Fernandez, Odriozola, Becker, Munoz, Tierney, Elustondo. And captain Mikel Oyarzabal, certainly present in the group, is uncertain.
On the PSG side, the presence of Kylian Mbappé in the starting 11 was confirmed by coach Luis Enrique on Tuesday: “I believe that when a team has a player of the rank of Kylian Mbappé, the only thing you have to understand is is that the more he plays, the better it is for the team. He could have played four days ago (in the league) but taking a risk was not useful,” he stressed.
Former coach of the FC Barcelona team and the Spanish selection, Luis Enrique knows this opponent well. Against Real Sociedad, “it’s very simple: you have to take the ball from them as quickly as possible and you have to try not to lose it. Let’s not forget that Real is one of the teams that has conceded the least of goals, he is an opponent who does not give gifts, his pressing is aggressive,” he warned.
While PSG were eliminated at this stage of the competition the previous two seasons, the pressure is great on the shoulders of the Parisian coach, even if he tries to minimize this 8e of the first leg: “I see, I feel, I perceive things around the club. We have only been talking about the Champions League for three weeks. We are talking about it like a life and death match. is not the case. We must remain calm, have the desire but without feeling pressure, anxiety.”
Facing the Basques, PSG will make life easier if their new offensive trident Ousmane Dembélé-Kylian Mbappé-Bradley Barcola, a discovery by Luis Enrique who should line them up for the first time in the Champions League, proves to be as formidable and effective as ‘in the championship.
PSG “also has its weaknesses”
On the opposing team, players want to remain confident. Even if Real Sociedad is having a bad time in the league, they can count on their team. “If Real Sociedad is having a good day, they can win. We are not in our best period but tomorrow it will be the Champions League, it will have nothing to do with it,” said coach Imanol Alguacil. PSG “also has weaknesses, it concedes a lot of goals”, he added, on the eve of challenging PSG.
The San Sebastián club can win “if we repeat what we have done in recent months, if we are strong in duels, if we aim high and if we have clear ideas”, he said. also added at a press conference, defender Robin Le Normand, a Spanish player of French origin.
After 20 years of waiting, Real Sociedad wants to believe in its chances of shaking up Paris Saint-Germain for its first C1 round of 16 since 2004, rewarding its playing philosophy and its local identity.
The Basque team, considered “the biggest of the little ones” in La Liga, behind the giants (Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao) hopes to repeat the feat achieved in 1983, when it reached the semi-finals. Champion Clubs’ Cup finals (lost to Hamburg). Even if it deplores numerous injuries in its ranks, it will be able to count on the extremis returns of selection of their Japanese will-o’-the-wisp Takefusa Kubo, who will be the number 1 danger of the Basque attack, and of the former Rennes defender Hamari Traoré .
With AFP