PSG's defeat to Real 'could have been avoided,' says Laurent Blanc
Wednesday 4 November 2015 00:24, UK
Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc was furious with the way in which his side conceded the winning goal in their 1-0 loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.
Real substitute Nacho Fernandez scored the winner 10 minutes before half-time to see the La Liga team through to the last 16 of Europe's premier club competition.
PSG had most of the clear-cut chances at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Madrid escaped with the victory when Fernandez - who had replaced injured left-back Marcelo - surprised goalkeeper Kevin Trapp with a shot that crossed the goalmouth and spun into the far corner after bouncing near the goal line in the 35th minute.
"That's the way football is," Blanc said. "We should have been more effective, but sometimes you score and sometimes you don't. The thing that bothers me the most is that Real Madrid scored the way it did. That play could have been avoided."
The teams had played out a goalless draw in Paris last month, when it was Madrid who had the better of the game.
"We suffered a lot in the first half, they worked the ball very well," Real boss Rafa Benitez said. "We improved in the second half, but we have to reflect on the things that we didn't do well today."
On this occasion, however, it was PSG who created most of the scoring opportunities, with Adrien Rabiot hitting the post in the 37th minute and Edinson Cavani having a shot cleared off the line in first-half injury time.
Angel Di Maria, returning to the Spanish capital to face his former club, also struck a post with a low corner kick that nearly surprised Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas 12 minutes from time, before hitting the crossbar with a free kick in the last minute.
"We delivered our best match of the season," Di Maria said. "An outstanding display. We made a mistake and were punished. We played 10 times better than Real. We'll carry on that way."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic nearly scored midway through the first half with low shot that just missed the target with Navas already beaten, and the Swedish striker also came close with a 29th-minute free kick that almost hit the post.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo had another quiet night, with his only chance being a 26th-minute free kick that was easily saved by Trapp.
"They had a lot of possession and they also caused us problems on the counter," Madrid defender Sergio Ramos said. "Today we got three very important points, but we have to keep on improving."
