PSG vs Real Madrid LIVE: Champions League result, final score and reaction tonight
Follow live coverage as PSG and Real Madrid meet in a battle of European heavyweights with both hoping to put one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals
Eventually, Paris Saint-Germain get there, maybe before Kylian Mbappe goes there. There was certainly a level of genius about how he got into this space.
You couldn’t quite say the French star stole the game given how utterly dominant his team were, but he did steal the show.
Mbappe’s mercurial stoppage-time winner gave PSG a deserved 1-0 win over a dismally defensive Real Madrid, to also ensure Leo Messi’s saved penalty did not have the same cost.
That is always the risk you run when you try and play it so safe. It was an inevitability of Madrid being so conservative, and perhaps an inevitability of the fact this was the first Champions League knock-out tie since the abolition of the away goal rule.
Madrid apparently had no interest in scoring one. It’s also possible, however, that they had no means of scoring one.
The entire match was one grand display of why this stale team so badly need Mbappe. It may well change the future. Follow all the latest reaction and analysis here:
1’ - PSG 0-0 Real Madrid
Kick-off!
We are underway - let’s see how this game goes. Plenty of noise inside the stadium, plenty of early energy from Real Madrid to try and press the home defence.
PSG vs Real Madrid - players are out
Ok, we’re closing in on the start of the tie of the last-16: Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid.
30 Champions League medals have been won across the two teams, BT Sport tell us - not a bad haul. Plenty for Real’s players of course, but PSG feel they’ve got the squad in place this time to go all the way at last.
The Parc des Princes is set, the football world is expectant.
PSG vs Real Madrid - countdown to kick-off
Only 15 minutes to go. All the players are warming-up before one quick final trip back to the dressing room.
Bit of a difference in how the two teams are prepping for kick-off, Miguel Delaney notes.
Who are set to be the match-winners today? Messi and Mbappe or Benzema and Vinicius?
PSG vs Real Madrid - latest news
Carlo Ancelotti has spoken ahead of the match and backed Mauricio Pochettino - of course, the Real boss is a former PSG head coach.
He also was asked about rumoured transfer target Kylian Mbappe - and said the forward will only be focused on trying to win the trophy this year for his current club.
“It’s not easy to manage a cub like this. It’s a lot of pressure,” he said.
“The game is important for all the players because of a huge audience - they all need to be on top of their game to beat a rival capable of winning the Champions League.
“Mbappe will be thinking the same as Messi, Benzema, Vinicius - to win the game.”
PSG vs Real Madrid - latest news
Midfield has been a bit of an issue for Pochettino and PSG in the biggest of games - can Verratti come up with the performance needed to dictate matters tonight? It’s not just about quality for Los Blancos, but familiarity - Casemiro, Kroos and Modric have been playing together for an eternity.
Real don’t seem to need to change them at all!
PSG vs Real Madrid - Team news
It’s not just the starting line-ups which are strong but the benches for both these teams, too.
PSG’s big positive comes in the form of a return to the matchday squad for Neymar, with his last match being on 28 November against Saint-Etienne. How much of a part he’ll play tonight we’ll have to wait and see, but he’s certainly a top option to have coming on for the final minutes.
Mauro Icardi and Gini Wijnaldum represent other experienced options for them from reserve, while Keylor Navas has to watch on against his former club as the sub keeper.
As for Real, their primary bench weapon could turn out to be Gareth Bale! It’s unlikely in fairness, but he did start at the weekend for the first time in LaLiga since August.
There’s also Eden Hazard, Fede Valverde and Rodrygo as regular options for Ancelotti to turn to.
PSG vs Real Madrid - latest news
The Parc des Princes looking tremendous this evening - we’re around 45 minutes from kick-off.
Worth a reminder that the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu takes place three weeks from now, 9 March.
PSG vs Real Madrid - the Champions League so far
The group stage wasn’t exactly a free pass for either of these two giants.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team topped their group, winning five of their six games, but that makes it sound more routine than it actually was for Los Blancos. The surprise result was a shock defeat to FC Sheriff, but they also needed a last-minute Rodrygo winner to beat Inter and were grateful to an unbelievable Vini Jr showing against Shakhtar at home to edge that game 2-1.
PSG seemed to be in third gear for most of Group A, eventually finishing second behind Man City on just 11 points from their six games - three wins, two draws and a defeat.
A draw with Club Brugge on the opening night wasn’t much of a positive, while they also conceded a stoppage-time penalty against Leipzig to only take a 2-2 draw there, too.
PSG vs Real Madrid - recent form
PSG have won four of their last five and come into the game in decent form - though it should be noted that they also lost the only Cup game they’ve played in that time. Technically they drew it, 0-0 with Nice, but a penalty shoot-out loss saw them exit the Coupe de France. At the weekend it was a 1-0 win over Rennes, courtesy of a last-minute winner from Kylian Mbappe - keeping them 13 points clear at the top.
As for Real Madrid, they’ve won only one of the last four, beaten by Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey and being held to draws by Elche and Villarreal recently. Their only win in this recent run came against Granada, though they still lead LaLiga by four points.
How scrapping the away goals rule will change this season’s Champions League
So, a reminder - no away goals from this point onwards! It has been a massive theme of European nights beforehand, in this competition and beyond, but it’s no longer something teams can rely on, aim for or plan the entire tie around if it happens in the first leg - and, thankfully, we won’t have to listen to commentators trot out the cliched line of “technically, that goal doesn’t change the job at hand...”
Our chief football writer Miguel Delaney explores how the continental adventure looks rather different from this season as a result - suggesting that the rule’s abolition makes sense but could yet favour Europe’s strongest teams.
How scrapping the away goals rule will change the Champions League
The rule added an ‘edge’ of uncertainty that heightened the drama and often made for epic comebacks. Its abolition makes sense but could yet favour Europe’s strongest teams, writes Miguel Delaney
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