Paris Saint-Germain slumped to a 3-1 loss at the hands of Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night and while Les Parisiens players were disappointed at the result, they remained upbeat that they could turn things around in the return leg.
Dani Alves, who has plenty of experience of playing against Real Madrid from his Barcelona days, stated, “They’re very intense games, you have to battle right to the end. We learned a little something tonight, while also knowing we have the second leg at home, and we’ll have to put in a great display”.
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“Everything is still possible, we know that the Champions League is very difficult. But we know we can turn things round at home,” the veteran fullback asserted.
Adrien Rabiot had given the Ligue 1 giants the lead in the first-half, but a Crisitnao Ronaldo penalty made it 1-1 just before the interval.
And Los Blancos showed just why they have been so dominant in the continental competition for the past few seasons with a clutch performance in the second-half, scoring two late goals, courtesy of Ronaldo and Marcelo, to run out 3-1 winners on the night.
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“We expected a high intensity game, we were prepared for that, but it’s not the result we wanted. I think we played well, in the first half we had possession, we put in intensity, we created chances, but we conceded a goal from a very harsh penalty,” central defender Marquinhos, who captained Les Parisiens in the absence of Thiago Silva, expressed.
“We were also good in the second half, we held on to the ball well. We conceded two goals but we know our strengths. We have to play the second leg at home and do all we can to qualify in front of our fans, with their support, with the support of our city. We can put in a great performance at the Parc and go through,” the Brazilian added.
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Central midfielder Marco Verratti, who had a standout game, told beIN SPORTS 1:
“We had a very good first half, and in the end I think we deserved to win on the balance of play. But when you play great teams, you have to be clinical. They were a little lucky tonight with the goals scored late in the game. We have to have confidence in ourselves. We showed tonight that we’re a great team. The result is harsh, we’re disappointed, but there is the second leg and we believe we can qualify. We’re going to do everything to win and qualify at the Parc”.
The second leg takes place at the Parc des Princes on March 6.