Paris Saint-Germain and Real Sociedad will face off in a rather enticing Champions League knockout tie. PSG are expected favorites with their star-studded squad led by the attacking onus of French forward and national team captain Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman has continuously expressed his desire to win this title as it continually eludes him in his career. Basque side Sociedad are certainly no pushovers with their solid defense and entertaining football.
Paris Saint-Germain made their first UEFA Champions League final in the 2019/2020 season after getting past an Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho-inspired Borussia Dortmund in the round 16 on a slim 3-2 aggregate score before heading to Lisbon for the rest of the redefined tournament as a result of the lockdown restrictions sending Italian side Atalanta packing in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory and defeating high flying Leipzig 3 goals to nil in the semi-finals.
That PSG squad featuring the likes of Neymar Jr, Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria, Mauro Icardi, Pablo Sarabia, and Kylian Mbappe, amongst others, could not attain glory as they eventually fell 1-nil to Bayern Munich courtesy of a Kingsley Coman goal. It might be too hopeful to expect this young contingent bolstered by a few experienced veterans, to go all the way under the instructions of Spanish manager Luis Enrique.
Les Parisiens were seeded in the supposed “group of death” in the initial stage of the competition as a part of the group featuring German side Borussia Dortmund, Serie A heavyweights AC Milan, and the reinvigorated Newcastle united under Eddie Howe’s management.
Before Samuel Chukwueze’s late curler which secured a win over Newcastle United, the Paris outfit looked set for a 3rd place finish. It was headed for the UEFA Europa League as Niklas Sule phenomenally put out a Kylian Mbappe tap-in into an empty goal.
The Nigerian international’s strike tied AC Milan on points with Paris Saint-Germain (8) but was not enough to grant them a second-place finish as the Parisians had the advantage on both goal difference and head-to-head.
The Magpies who routed PSG earlier in the campaign courtesy of a 4-1 victory, could only settle for the last-placed spot in the group despite picking up 5 points.
La Real came out top in a group featuring Portuguese giants SL Benfica, Austrian outfit RB Salzburg, and Simeone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan. The Spaniards topped their group and went unbeaten across their group stage campaign (same as second-placed Inter Milan) with 12 points spanning 3 wins and 3 draws. They progressed ahead of Inter Milan as their fixtures ended in 1-1 and 0-0 draws across both legs. Real Sociedad boasted a positive two-goal difference over Inter Milan. They secured a 1-0 over Benfica in Lisbon and put 3 quick-fire goals in the first half of the return leg in Spain before Benfica grabbed a loan consolation. Against their final group opponents Salzburg, they played out a 0-0 home draw at the Reale Arena and won 2-0 at the Red Bull Arena in Austria.
Paris Saint-Germain and Real Sociedad have no head-to-head records between the sides. This double-legged encounter will be the first of such between the French and Spanish outfits and they will both look to exert the early dominance over their counterparts.
Match Tickets
The Champions League Paris Saint-Germain v Real Sociedad first leg match will be played at Parc des Princes in Paris, France on Wednesday,14 Feb 2024, 21:00:00 GMT.
Paris Saint-Germain’s only long-term absentee is 4th choice Spanish Goalkeeper Sergio Rico who suffered an injury in a horse riding incident in Huelva, in his home country, and has joined up with the first team. Keylor Navas, Marco Asensio, and Ousmane Dembele have been in and out of injuries. Still, gaffer Luis Enrique will be expectant to have them fully fit for the knockout rounds, particularly veteran goalkeeper Keylor Navas and his pedigree in the UEFA Champions League as first-choice goalie Gianluigi Donnaruma continues with his occasional poor run of form.
Kylian Mbappe will undoubtedly lead the attacking pack with support around from Randal Kolo Muani, Goncalo Ramos on loan from Sl Benfica, and former La Liga forwards Kang-In-Lee, Marco Asensio and Ousmane Dembele from RCD Mallorca, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona respectively.
Nigerian forward Sadiq Umar who joined Sociedad from Almeria ahead of the 22/23 season, picked up a season-ending ACL injury that ruled him out of the season. Still, he’s fully returned this season and registered two puskas-worthy goal nominations in back-to-back games. With the departure of Norwegian forward Alexander Sorloth to Villarreal, he will join Mikel Oyarazabal, Mohamed Ali Cho, and Takefusa Kubo in the offense for the Spaniards.
Real Sociedad XI– Remiro; Tierney, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Traore; Merino, Zubimendi; Oyarazabal, Mendez, Kubo; Umar.
Prediction
Following his 25th birthday, time is running out for Kylian Mbappe to get his hands on this long-craved silverware, and with Luis Enrique’s healthy 14/15 campaign with FC Barcelona, he might finally be one to deliver for Paris Saint-Germain and lead them past Imanol Alguacil’s side.
