Skip to main content

Di Maria dramatically better against Real Madrid - Blanc


Di Maria dramatically better against Real Madrid - Blanc

The Paris Saint-Germain coach lauded the summer signing and the rest of his players despite losing out to a Nacho strike at the Bernabeu
Laurent Blanc singled out Angel Di Maria for praise after Paris Saint-Germain pushed Real Madrid all the way in Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League defeat.

PSG were the better side prior to Nacho's 35th-minute goal and continued to threaten thereafter, but failed to force a deserved equaliser in the Group A clash.

Di Maria had the best two chances of the second half for PSG, forcing a one-on-one save from Keylor Navas just after half-time before hitting the crossbar with a free-kick late on.

Blanc lauded the Argentina midfielder – who signed from Manchester United for an estimated €63million at the start of the season – for upping his game against his former club.


"Just like the rest of the team, Angel dramatically raised his performance level compared to recent matches," the coach told reporters at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"That result shows how football can turn out sometimes. But I think in a game like that – even if we didn't get the points we came for – we have to see the positives.

"After the first leg [which was drawn 0-0 at Parc des Princes a fortnight ago], some people said that we are not able to compete with the tempo of Real, but we showed that we can endanger any team tonight.

"Compared to our last game against Madrid, our offensive movement was much better. Real Madrid didn't come close to walking all over us.

"We have to build on this; it bodes well for the future. I'm pretty satisfied on the balance of both games against Madrid."

PSG, who have a 10-point lead in Ligue 1 already, have a four point cushion in second spot in the group and look primed to join Madrid in the last 16.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fellaini Signs New Deal

Fellaini agrees to stay at the English giants by finally agreeing to a new deal after several weeks of being linked with Arsenal and a host of other clubs. In a club statement released on the official club website, earlier today; "Manchester United is delighted to announce that Marouane Fellaini has signed a new contract which will keep him at the club until June 2020, with the option to extend for a further year". Fellaini, 30, joined United in 2013 and has made 156 appearances and scored 20 goals. During his time at the club he has won the FA Cup, EFL Cup, UEFA Europa League and Community Shield. Marouane Fellaini said: “I am pleased to be continuing my journey as a Manchester United player. I made this decision because I am very happy here. Also, I feel like this team, under Jose, still has a lot we want to achieve. “I would like to say a special thank you to Jose for the faith he has always shown in me. My focus now is on the World Cup and I am looking forwa...

Depay: I'm a team player

The Manchester United winger has acknowledged his form is "not very good" at present, but rejected suggestions he is selfish Netherlands winger Memphis Depay has rejected Danny Blind's suggestion that he is not a team player and insists he is working as hard as ever to rediscover his best form. The 21-year-old inspired PSV to the Eredivisie title last season but has struggled to adapt to the Premier League since joining Manchester United for €27.5 million during the summer. Netherlands boss Blind claimed last week that Depay "does not always function for the team" but still included the the forward in his squad for the upcoming friendlies with Wales and Germany. "When I spoke to Danny Blind [after linking up with Netherlands], it was a very good conversation," the Red Devils forward told  NOS . "I think I’m a team player and the other players in the team also think that. “I don’t think I’m in a difficult path of my career, as the media says...

Klopp An Unlucky Man In Cup Finals

Jurgen Klopp said he has never been on the lucky side of a wrong decision in a final after his Liverpool team lost 3-1 to Sevilla in the Europa League final on Wednesday. In his post-match news conference, Klopp was asked by a German reporter for his thoughts on Andujar Coke's second goal after the referee overruled his linesman on an offside call. Replays later showed that the ball had clearly come off Philippe Coutinho into the attacker's path but Klopp said it was the first time had ever seen a referee overrule his linesman. "I've had a lot of games as a coach but it is not that often that a referee overrules the linesman," the German said. "But right after the match someone said it was the right decision because Coutinho has played the pass." Klopp said he felt like he never had luck in finals, having seen at least two penalty appeals waved away in the first half. "You speak German so I guess you've seen some finals...