Big Match Feature: Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain face a high-stakes tie against Real Madrid as last season's beaten semi-finalists meet in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 for the second time. Catch the action live on SuperSport.

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Madrid eliminated Paris at this stage of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League en route to winning the competition for the third year running, although the French club had come out on top in the two previous knockout ties between the clubs.

This season Paris were forced to settle for second place behind 2020/21 runners-up Manchester City in Group A, while Madrid held off Inter to claim first place in Group D.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Thomas Tuchel's Paris got the better of a Real Madrid side coached by Zinédine Zidane in the 2019/20 group stage, picking up four points from their two games. Goals from former Madrid midfielder Ángel Di María (14, 33) and Thomas Meunier (90+1) secured a 3-0 home win at the Parc des Princes on Matchday 1 before Kylian Mbappé (81) and Pablo Sarabia (83) rescued a point for Paris at the Santiago Bernabéu on Matchday 5 after Karim Benzema had scored twice for the Spanish side (17, 79).

Four of the teams' previous ten matches have ended in a Real Madrid win – including three in a row before that 2019 loss in France – while Paris have three victories. Paris have, however, outscored their opponents, hitting 14 goals to Madrid's 13.

This is the teams' second meeting in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, eventual champions Madrid winning 3-1 in Spain in 2017/18 with Marcelo on the scoresheet after Cristiano Ronaldo's double, and 2-1 in Paris, Ronaldo again and Casemiro finding the net for Madrid.

Madrid's 2015/16 UEFA Champions League triumph had also featured a win against Paris, a 1-0 group stage victory at the Santiago Bernabéu in which Nacho got the only goal. The game at the Parc des Princes finished scoreless.

Paris have lost three of their five away games against Madrid, the one victory their UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinal first leg in March 1994 when George Weah scored the only goal at the Bernabéu in a tie Paris won 2-1 on aggregate.

The French side produced a memorable comeback in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, turning round a 3-1 loss in Spain with a 4-1 home victory. Three of the four goals at the Parc des Princes came from the 80th minute onwards; David Ginola (81) and Valdo (87) made it 3-0 to Paris on the night and, though Iván Zamorano levelled for Madrid on aggregate in added time, there was still time for Antoine Kombouaré to win the tie for Paris.

Paris's win on 18 September 2019 is their only success in their last seven games against Madrid (D3 L3).

Marcelo scored Madrid's goal in a 3-1 defeat by Paris in an Ohio friendly in 2016.

FORM GUIDE

PARIS

Paris picked up 11 points in this season's group stage, nine coming from their home matches where they beat Manchester City (2-0), Leipzig (3-2) and Club Brugge (4-1). They drew in Bruges (1-1) and Leipzig (2-2), losing 2-1 in Manchester on Matchday 5 to be confirmed in second place.

Runners-up to Bayern München in the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League final, losing 1-0 in Lisbon, Paris again reached the latter stages of last season's competition.

A team coached by Tuchel were first in Group H last season, picking up 12 points to finish level with Leipzig but above them on head-to-head record with Manchester United third and Istanbul Basaksehir fourth. Paris won four of their group games, losing at home to United and in Leipzig.

With Mauricio Pochettino having replaced Tuchel, Paris got the better of Barcelona (4-1 a, 1-1 h) and Bayern (3-2 a, 0-1 h) in the knockout stages before losing to Manchester City in the semi-finals (1-2 h, 0-2 a).

Paris were without a win in four UEFA Champions League games (D1 L3) before beating Manchester City 2-0 on Matchday 2. The Matchday 6 win against Club Brugge is one of only four in their last 11 matches (D3 L4).

Paris have lost only six of their last 64 European home games (W41 D17), although four of those have come in their last 14 matches at the Parc des Princes including the two before they beat City on Matchday 2.

This is the French side's tenth successive UEFA Champions League campaign and 14th in total, two behind Lyon's national record.

Mbappé's opening goal on Matchday 6 was Paris's 250th in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final.

Although Paris missed out on the Ligue 1 title for only the second time in nine years in 2020/21, finishing second a point behind LOSC Lille, they did win the French Cup for the record 14th time overall and the sixth time in seven seasons.

Paris's round of 16 record is W6 L3; last season's victory against Barcelona was their second in a row, a 2019/20 comeback win against Borussia Dortmund (1-2 a, 2-0 h) having ended a run of three consecutive round of 16 eliminations that started with a remarkable tie against Barcelona in 2016/17 (4-0 h, 1-6 a) and also included their 2017/18 loss against Madrid.

The French club's record in two-legged ties against Spanish sides is W6 L4, last season's win against Barcelona ending a run of four defeats.

The first leg against Barcelona last season is one of only three Paris wins in their last 13 matches against Spanish clubs, home and away (D3 L7).

Paris have lost two of their last six games against Liga clubs at the Parc des Princes (W2 D2), where their overall record against Spanish visitors reads W8 D6 L3.

The 4-0 first-leg win against Barcelona in 2017 is Paris's only success in their last six knockout matches against a Spanish side at the Parc des Princes (D3 L2).

REAL MADRID

Madrid won five of their six Group D games, the exception a stunning 2-1 defeat at home to debutants Sheriff on Matchday 2, as they finished first in their section for the third time in four seasons. Away from home they kept clean sheets in winning at Inter (1-0), Shakhtar Donetsk (5-0) and Sheriff (3-0).

Under Zidane, Madrid also finished first in their section in 2020/21, picking up six of their ten points against Inter and sealing progress as group winners with a 2-0 home defeat of Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 6.

Madrid then won both legs against Atalanta in the round of 16 (1-0 a, 3-1 h) before eliminating Liverpool in the quarter-finals (3-1 h, 0-0 a). They lost to eventual champions Chelsea in the semi-finals (1-1 h, 0-2 a).

Madrid have won eight of their last 14 UEFA Champions League away games (D2 L4).

Zidane was replaced by former Paris coach Carlo Ancelotti in the summer, the Italian having guided Madrid to their tenth European Cup in 2013/14.

The Spanish side were second in the 2020/21 Liga, finishing two points behind neighbours Atlético.

Having reached the semi-finals or better for eight successive seasons between 2010/11 and 2017/18, Madrid lost in the last 16 against Ajax in 2018/19 and Manchester City the following season. Last season's win against Atalanta made their overall record at this stage W10 L8.

Defeat in Paris on Matchday 1 in 2019/20 is Madrid's sole loss in their last 13 matches against French opposition (W8 D4), going back to a 1-0 loss at Lyon in the 2009/10 round of 16 first leg (1-2 aggregate).

The Merengues had conceded only two goals in seven games against French sides before shipping five in their two matches against Paris two seasons ago; they scored 15 goals themselves in that seven-game period (W6 D1).

Madrid's record away to Ligue 1 clubs is W6 D3 L7.

While Madrid have lost two of their three two-legged knockout ties with Paris, their 2017/18 success made their overall knockout record against French clubs W4 L4.

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