Real Madrid don’t need to beat Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes if they want to play in the next round of the Champions League. Their current 3-1 lead on aggregate gives them a solid margin but Zidane’s men should still try to score an away goal in order to force PSG to find the back of the net three times. Here are three keys to the game.
- Make PSG care about their defense. Do not sit back and defend all the time as PSG will punish you if that’s your gameplan for 90 minutes. Real Madrid have the quality to control the tempo of the game throughout the match and that’s what they should do, without taking too many risks. If Verratti, Mbappe, Cavani and Di Maria are given the freedom to create chance after chance, things will be tough for Madrid.
- Set pieces. No free goals for PSG. Real Madrid need to be solid when defending set pieces and also keep in mind that they must not give away fouls close to their own box. Zidane has surely put emphasis on this part of the game as an opening goal for PSG off a set piece would be very problematic for Los Blancos.
- Kroos and Modric should be used if they’re ready enough. There’s no bigger game for Real Madrid than this one. It’s not like the two midfielder should rest some more time so that they can be ready for La Liga. This is it for Madrid, and if Kroos and Modric can play, Zidane should give them as many minutes as they can possibly play.
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Date: 03/06/2018
Time: 20:45 CET, 02:45pm EST, 11:45am Pacific.
Venue: Parc Des Princes, Paris, France.
Available TV: FOX Sports 1 (USA), BT Sport 2 (UK), Antena 3 (Spain).
Available Streaming: FOX Sports GO (USA), Fubo.TV (EVERY Real Madrid game with a high-quality and legal stream, click here to sign up and benefit from a winter discount for new members and Managing Madrid readers).