Zinedine Zidane on Wednesday warned his Real Madrid players that they can expect to suffer in the return leg of their UEFA Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain, despite seeing Cristiano Ronaldo inspire a 3-1 comeback victory.
The reigning European champions stunned the PSG of Neymar in the round-of-16, first-leg showdown with two goals in the final seven minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu from Ronaldo and Marcelo.
Ronaldo had earlier drawn Madrid level with his 100th Champions League goal for the club from the penalty spot on the stroke of halftime, canceling out Adrien Rabiot’s opener for the French side.
Photo: AFP
“We can afford to have a bit of euphoria tonight. We have to be satisfied and enjoy this, but there is a second leg to come where we will need to play with a lot of intensity. We know we are going to suffer,” Zidane said.
Real had already suffered for large spells of Wednesday’s match, before PSG collapsed defensively in the closing stages, unable to adjust after Zidane sent on Marco Asensio.
Striker Asensio set up the two late goals and Zidane will take plenty of credit for the impact his substitutions had on the game just when it looked as though PSG would leave the Spanish capital with the edge in the tie.
Zidane, under pressure because of Real’s indifferent domestic form, again saw the Champions League bring the best out of his team and Ronaldo.
“With Ronaldo it’s difficult to always say the same thing. He has shown once again that he always turns up in the big games,” Zidane said after the Portuguese became the first player to score 100 Champions League goals for the same club.
He has scored 11 this season in Europe in just seven matches and he won the battle of the superstars at the Bernabeu with PSG’s Neymar.
“Real Madrid love the Champions League and as players we can feel that on the pitch,” Ronaldo said after collecting his man-of-the-match award. “Today, things worked out for me, scoring two goals and helping the team win, but we know the tie is not finished yet.”
While Real are looking to win the European Cup for the third year running — something no club has done since Bayern Munich in 1975-1976 — and the 13th time overall, PSG risk seeing their wait for a first Champions League crown go on.
A year after they fell apart in historic fashion to lose 6-1 in Barcelona at the same stage of the competition after winning 4-0 at home, here was another late collapse on Spanish soil.
PSG coach Unai Emery surely needs to win the round-of-16 tie to remain in the job, but he took big decisions that backfired.
Captain Thiago Silva was left out, 21-year-old Giovani Lo Celso started in midfield and Angel di Maria stayed on the bench, even when Edinson Cavani came off in the second half.
“The team played well and deserved better. We have to be optimistic and positive for the match in Paris. We still have a good chance of getting through,” said Emery, who has drawn once and lost 10 times in 11 visits to the Bernabeu as a coach.
Emery tried to turn the focus on Italian referee Gianluca Rocchi, saying the penalty the hosts got for a Lo Celso challenge on Toni Kroos was soft.
He also felt his side should have had a spot-kick for a Sergio Ramos handball.
“When we play against a big team, it’s the same, always,” PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said. “Last year against Barcelona, this year against Real Madrid. OK, Real Madrid are a big club, but that’s enough now. UEFA have to do something.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or