Those who love football have kept their agenda free on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Tomorrow at 9 pm. The Champions League restarts with a cracker between PSG and Real Madrid in the 1/8th finals. The day after tomorrow there is Inter against Liverpool. In our podcast De Tribune, Peter Vandenbempt and Aster Nzeyimana look ahead.
The Great Reunion
The 1/8th finals of the Champions League start with a clash on Tuesday evening. The Parc des Princes lives up to its name as the setting for a “reunion” of a pack of princes of football.
Especially at the home team there are a lot of players who they still know in Madrid. Starting of course with Sergio Ramos (16 years of Real), although he is expected to lose the battle against time to get into top shape for a starting spot.
Also Keylor Navas, Achraf Hakimi and Angel Di Maria were once under contract in Madrid and Lionel Messi and Neymar are also no strangers in Madrid of course. The latter has not played for two months due to an injury.
Conversely, Paris is familiar territory for trainer Carlo Ancelotti (2011-2013) and for Ferland Mendy, who spent his youth there until he was 17.
The whole rumor mill about a transfer from Kylian Mbappé adds spice to the confrontation. And that’s not to mention the Parisian flirtation in the past with Hazard, Camavinga, Benzema and Vinicius.
By getting so worked up about the draw, Real has given the impression that they find PSG too difficult.
Real’s talisman: Daniel Carvajal
“The funny thing about this game, I think, is that Real has already given up a bit by reacting furiously to the result of the second draw”, Peter Vandenbempt recalls the chaotic draw for the 1/8th finals.
“First Real was allowed against Benfica and they thought that was a good idea in Madrid. In the second attempt it was PSG.”
“By getting so excited, Real has at least given the appearance that they find PSG too difficult. And if it weren’t for this selection of Real, I would predict that PSG will go through with 100 percent certainty,” is the first prediction of Peter Vandenbempt for the 1/8th finals.
“Real is fickle and quite vulnerable, but someone whispered to me that Real haven’t lost since August 2020 since Daniel Carvajal came in. And he will start. Ancelotti has realized that with his older midfield he cannot put pressure.”
“So he lets the team collapse a bit and plays counter football, although that is a caricature, but they can still win bad matches.”
“The biggest insult that Real has received lately is that Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid coach) has said that he loves Real football.”
PSG could have already been eliminated in the group stage.
No chemistry in Paris, but lifeline Mbappé
PSG is favorite against Real for Peter Vandenbempt. He did not say that they are also (co-) favorites for the overall victory. Even before the group stage, he predicted that they would not win the Champions League. “And I’m even more convinced of that now than then.”
“PSG received two football lessons from Manchester City in the group stage. Yes they won the first game, but whoever saw the match knows that the result was a completely wrong representation of reality.”
“They also saw all the colors of the rainbow twice against Leipzig. They could have been eliminated already.”
“It’s all wrong in Paris and there’s the lack of chemistry with coach Pochettino, who apparently already has his bags in hand to go to Manchester United.”
“But on the other hand, they have a kind of lifeline with Mbappe. He has already scored 20 goals and 16 assists in February. And just to be clear: at times they can play phenomenal football. But it can freeze and thaw in Paris.”
Good news for Neymar: Rio carnival falls between the outward and return match
Worries over injured players will have fans gripping their heads in both Madrid and Paris. Karim Benzema dropped out on January 23 and is vital for the Madrilenians.
Paris has the problem child Neymar, who does not get further than 45 percent of the total possible time played for PSG in the Champions League and Ligue 1.
“I read that Neymar absolutely wants to play, which is a bit strange, because Carnival is in Brazil at the end of February and early March. The good news is that Carnival in Rio falls just between the outward and return leg.” The return is on March 9.
Inter missing Barella and Bastoni is a serious loss.
Liverpool are by far favorite against Inter
On Wednesday, the most eye-catching poster is the game between Inter and Liverpool. Inter is 2nd in Italy at 1 point from Milan and is not to be underestimated.
One statistic says a lot: the Milanese are only in the 1/8th finals again for the first time in 10 years.
“We thought with Belgian glasses that Inter was very dependent on Lukaku, but Dzeko has reinvented himself, Calhanoglu is really an asset and I think Brozovic is a very good manager,” says Aster Nzyimana. “So there was really more than Lukaku and Conte at Inter.”
“They do miss midfielder Barella and defender Bastoni, the best in the back. Those are two serious losses.”
Liverpool, along with Ajax and Bayern, belonged to the clubs that reached 18 out of 18 in the group stage. Jürgen Klopp recently lauded his selection as the “best” he has already done in Northern England. He mainly pointed to the breadth of his player core.
“Liverpool is by far the favorite,” says Nzeyimana. “Salah and Mane will get fit after the Africa Cup and the breadth of the core already showed in matches during their absence. Plus they have brought in Colombian Luis Diaz.”
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