- PSG squandered a 4-0 aggregate lead against Barcelona last season
- Unai Emery has claimed his side have learnt their lesson from the defeat
- The Ligue 1 side are preparing for their Champions League tie with Real Madrid
- Emery is adamant PSG are ready for the first leg in Madrid on Wednesday night
- He insisted they have huge respect for Real but are confident in themselves
Unai Emery believes Paris Saint Germain’s meeting with Real Madrid on Wednesday is the moment the club has been waiting for ever since their humiliation at the hands of Barcelona 12 months ago.
The PSG coach cut a beleaguered figure on the touchline last March when Barcelona won 6-1 to cancel out his team’s first leg 4-0 lead.
Asked how that nightmare in the Nou Camp has affected his preparations he said: ‘Perhaps the preparation for this game began in that game. When things don’t well you learn a lot. The team is ready to compete at this level. We have more experience and we are better prepared to progress.’
Unai Emery gets to know his surroundings ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Real Madrid
If the events of last March suggested that, for all the money PSG had spent they were still not ready to compete with Europe’s elite then this game is another chance said the Basque coach.
‘This game is an opportunity for us. We are playing against the champions and the team that has won this competition the most. We want to reach that level.
Paris Saint-Germain are preparing for their Champions League last 16 firs leg tie
PSG squandered a 4-0 first leg lead to be knocked out by Barcelona last season
‘We have huge respect for the rival but we also have a lot of confidence in our ability to qualify for the quarter-finals. This is a great opportunity to show how we have advanced.’
Asked if he would choose Neymar over Real Madrid’s star-turn Cristiano Ronaldo, Emery added: ‘I am delighted to have Neymar.’
PSG defender Marquinhos also spoke about his Brazilian team-mate. He said: ‘Neymar is not affected by all the talk around him. He has come to our club to help us win things and now is the moment.
Emery claimed on Tuesday that his side have learnt from last season’s embarrassment
‘We are two big teams and both with a lot to lose. All I can say is that we will match them for ambition to qualify.’
When asked about his memories from the 6-1 last season he said: ‘We have to show the same personality away as we show at home. That’s the way to change the outcome.’
He insisted that the Ligue 1 leaders are ready to make amends for last season’s failure
