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PSG played a great game in their first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 clash with Real Madrid, coming away with a 1-0 victory. The result is somewhat misleading, as PSG out-classed Real Madrid from the opening kick and deserved more than one goal they scored. They even had a penalty, but Lionel Messi was denied by Thibaut Courtois.
Still, a late goal by Kylian Mbappe saved the long-anticipated match from being a 0-0 draw. As these European powers are set to play the second leg, let's look at two bold PSG predictions for the Champions League clash vs. Real Madrid on March 9th.
Real Madrid vs. PSG bold predictions
Kylian Mbappe will play his last Champions League game for PSG in his future home stadium
PSG is a great team, but their first game came down to Real Madrid's defensive-oriented game plan. Of course, PSG played well in their own regard, but it will be an entirely different beast facing Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu this week. PSG had the chance to win big when Madrid set up as they did, missing a golden opportunity to get a sizable aggregate lead before the second leg.
Real Madrid will be an attacking outfit in the second leg, with Fede Valverde replacing Casemiro in the middle, meaning they will be much more energized and more forward-looking.
This bout is interesting not only due to the greatness of the teams involved, but also due to the drama surrounding Mbappe. The Frenchman is under contract with PSG until this summer and has not signed an extension. They have been offering Mbappe a ton of money, including an almost unbelievable €100 million signing bonus and €50 million salary per season.
PSG have since denied that offer was made, but the fact remains that Mbappe is still not putting his name on a PSG contract. What team has emerged as the prohibitive favorite to sign him after this season, even over PSG? Real Madrid.
It would be almost poetic that Mbappe plays his last PSG game in the Champions League against his future team, in front of 60,000 fans at Santiago Bernabeu. While the potency of the Messi-Neymar-Mbappe always gives PSG a chance to win, they will lose this game.
PSG have a lot of things, but lack meaningful Champions League experience throughout the roster. Messi, Di Maria and Neymar have tons, while Veratti and Mbappe are gaining experience as they go this season. Still, Real Madrid's comfort in the Champions League setting is just on another level. Modric and Kroos, two midfielders playing next to Valverde in the middle for Madrid, both have four Champions League trophies, winning them all as starters.
That experience will be key when an aggressive Real Madrid side beats PSG on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi will play another poor game versus Real Madrid
There is a very interesting fact concerning Messi and his record against Real Madrid. Obviously, he played and scored a ton for Barcelona against their arch Spanish rivals. Yet, the last goal he scored versus Real Madrid was actually in the last El Clasico that Cristiano Ronaldo played, on May 6th, 2018.
In the span of almost four years, across all competitions, Messi played eight games for Barcelona and PSG against Real Madrid and scored exactly zero goals—an amazing stat given his consistent production otherwise and overall playmaking prowess.
There is just something about his play versus the Spanish giants since Ronaldo left for Juventus in the summer of 2018 that does not look right. Messi gets plenty of opportunities against Real Madrid, like his penalty kick in the first game that Courtois saved, but he does not seem to convert them. A part of that is due to the excellent job Casemiro has done. The Brazilian defensive midfielder is always right on Messi's trail, and man marks him for the entirety of the game unless he gets an early yellow card.
Casemiro isn't playing in the second leg, but Messi's struggles will likely continue. PSG will not be able to dominate as they did in Paris and if they do not have the ball for extended periods of time, Messi is poised to be ineffective. He could provide a few moments of magic, but his season suggests that he will not be as good as people hope for in a huge game like this. He has scored just seven goals this year and while most did come in the Champions League, it will be a very tough game for the Argentinian to make his impact felt.
PSG will likely play counter-attacking football and it could be a good game for Mbappe, but Messi will probably struggle to have a positive effect on his team.
