Madrid's "Real" will start the UEFA Champions League season not as champions for the first time since 2016. The over 1000-day dominance of the "whites" ended last spring.
This season, the journey of the "whites" in the Champions League begins in Paris. They will face a familiar opponent - the "Saint-Germain" club. Both teams are affected by injuries and various sanctions, but an intriguing battle is still awaited in the French capital.
The match starts at 22:00. Here are the most interesting match facts:
Four out of the last eight matches between these teams ended with victories for Madrid's "Real". PSG triumphed twice, and the remaining matches ended in draws.
Madrid's team scored 11 goals in the mentioned number of matches, while the Parisians scored nine.
"We start our 50th edition in the Champions League at Parc des Princes with the challenge of winning our 5th title in the last 7 seasons! #RMUCL #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/LprX1KbnPK - Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 18, 2019
The last time these teams competed in the Champions League was in the 2017-18 season. Zinedine Zidane's coached team faced PSG and won both times, progressing to the quarterfinals. The first leg at home ended in a 3-1 victory, and the return leg with a score of 2-1.
"Real" and PSG competed in the group stage in the 2015-16 season. Back then, under Rafael Benitez's coaching, the "whites" also celebrated a victory at home (1-0), while the match in Paris ended goalless.
PSG played against "Real" at their stadium four times - one win, one loss, and two draws. The Parisians have not beaten the "whites" in five consecutive matches - the last time "Real" was defeated was in 1994.
When playing Champions League home matches, PSG has failed to keep a clean sheet for seven consecutive matches. PSG has only won four out of their last 11 matches in the continental tournament - also two draws and five losses. However, the Parisians have scored at least one goal in 24 consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, the most successful Champions League team has only suffered seven losses in their last 41 matches in Europe - 27 wins and 7 draws.
When playing away matches in the Champions League, Madrid's "Real" has achieved 14 wins and suffered four losses in their last 22 matches.
For Keylor Navas, Angel Di Maria, and Pablo Sarabia, this will be a match against their former team. On the other hand, in the ranks of "Real," Alphonse Areola and Ferland Mendy, who played in PSG's youth teams, are well known.
