URGENT Two-year-old Real Madrid will have a second-leg title at home to fourth-placed Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday as Liverpool return to the playoffs against Porto.
The first continental competition is a major goal in Real and Saint-Germain this season. On the one hand, Real, especially his French coach Zinedine Zidane, wants to compensate for his loss of logical hope of chasing Barcelona in the league and his humiliating exit from the Cup competition.
The German side, despite their clear dominance in the French league, has yet to be relegated to a first European title, boosted by Brazilian striker Neymar from Barcelona last summer for 222 million euros.
No one in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium wanted to face a high-caliber opponent in this early round of a 12-page "royal" tournament, but the draw was a two-way encounter.
No team has won the continental title three times in a row since the mid-1970s when Bayern Munich made it possible to win again for Real if they manage to move past St Germain and continue their march towards the May 26 final in Kiev.
Real Madrid, who have reached the semi-final in the last seven years, has what it takes to add the third title in a row to the 2017 when they beat Juventus 4-1 in the final and became the first team to retain the title in its new version, the first ever In the new and previous versions (the European Cup of Champions) since the achievement of Milan in 1990.
The exit from the final of the final is still stuck in the minds of their fans when they beat Barcelona 4-0 on their way to the quarter-finals, before a terrible drop off the home 1-6, Neymar scored two goals.
St Germain scored their best in the Champions League before the semi-finals in 1995 and came out against AC Milan.
"This confrontation between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain can be a whole season," said Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's best player and five-time world champion.
- "Concern" in Paris -
The two-month-old has attracted the attention of the European footballers because of their negative impact on the loser, especially Zidane, who is under heavy criticism despite bringing eight titles from 11 possible in just two seasons, and Spaniard Onai Emery demanding compensation for the fall of last season.
"There is no fear in football, especially with Real Madrid," said Croatia midfielder Luka Modric, a Real Madrid player.
Given the level of the two teams, there is a slight preference for St Germain, who lead the league and compete against the rest of the domestic cups, but lacks decisive in the major confrontations such as last season's Barcelona or Bayern Munich (1-3) in December.
Udinese captain Edenson Cavani scored the first goal in the Champions League, creating a "worry" in Paris, although teammate Adrian Rabio said the team in the capital had made progress. "We have to have a solid mindset. You have to be psychologically ready. "
To put pressure on the visiting team, the heart of the Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos called on the Meringhi fans to come early to receive a hot bus for the SG on arrival.
The match between Ronaldo, 33, and Neymar, 26, who celebrated their birthday in a day,
It is true that Ronaldo has a regular season compared to his previous scoring goals, but he leads the league's top scorer 9 with three goals from Neymar. Ronaldo has been top scorer with 114 goals, including 19 in the last 11 games, a record in all matches this season.
There have been many recent reports of Neymar's move to Real, to be Ronaldo's successor and leader of the club's renewal campaign, but Saint-Germain and Qatari President Nasser al-Khulaifi have repeatedly denied this possibility.
- A defensive battle? -
But who will win? Experience or ambition? History or rocket boarding?
"We are going to face a great team with great players who we respect a lot, but we have proved the strength of our squad, its unity and its experience in this competition," Ronaldo warned.
There will also be a confrontation between the trio of the BBC's Ronaldo, Welsh Gareth Pyle and Frenchman Karim Benzema, while the trio of St Germain (MCN), composed of Neymar, Cavani and Juventus Kilian Mbabi, also coming last summer from Monaco.
Zidane, who received 13 goals in 10 matches in 2018, said: "Because we are playing on our soil, we must pay attention to our goals."
And miss Real right back Danny Karabakhl suspended, to begin to wake up Nacho match and bear the burden of Neymar control.
In Paris, Italian midfielder Tiago Motta will miss his injury and Limere will have several options in the midfield defense between former Real Madrid player Lassana Diarra, Argentine Giovanni Lucello and Marco Verati.
The two teams met only once in the Champions League. Real Madrid won 1-0 at home to Nacho in the group stage in 2015 after a draw in Paris. Real are also the most extreme opponents of the UEFA Cup quarter-finals of 1993 and the 1994 European Cup.
- The red in the exclusion -
In the second game, Liverpool face the English champions five times with a two-time win over Portuguese Porto.
The English team has the advantage of winning two matches in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals of 2001 and the group stage of the Champions League in 2007, and tied in the other two.
German coach Juergen Klub and Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah have been in the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Salah has been in excellent form since moving from Rome to second place in the English Premier League with 22 points behind Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Caen.
"To be frank, I have not decided yet, but now it is different," he said, referring to the payment of Karyos, who played all but one of the 2018 Reds.
Porto have not been in the quarter-finals since their 2004 start at Monaco's expense.
