Were lucky to get away with 2-2 draw at Real, admits PSG boss

PSG's Kylian Mbappe (left) battles for possession with Real Madrid's Casemiro during their UEFA Champions League tie on Tuesday. pic/AFP

Madrid: PSG know better than most what a comeback means in the Champions League and while their two-goal retrieval on Tuesday offered a dramatic late twist, there was no doubting the biggest recovery of the night. Real Madrid had not only lost 3-0 in the opening fixture at the Parc des Princes in September, they were outplayed, the verdict so damning that it put Zinedine Zidane's future as coach in doubt.

Ten weeks later, his team were transformed at the Santiago Bernabeu, where they bullied PSG, hogged possession and peppered the goal of Keylor Navas, who was returning to the club where he spent five successful years. That Madrid conceded twice in two mad minutes meant it amounted only to a 2-2 draw but the overwhelming sense is that this is a side finally playing with verve again. It feels like Zidane's Madrid are back. "It was a great performance," said Zidane. "The players are not happy with the result, but you have to be happy with what we have done for 80 minutes. I'd take that performance all day long," added Zidane.

PSG Tuchel

"We were lucky," admitted PSG coach Thomas Tuchel. "But that's not a crime."

Their late smash and grab was instigated by the electric Kylian Mbappe and completed by Pablo Sarabia.

Relief for Real over Eden Hazard injury

Madrid: Eden Hazard's ankle injury is not as serious as first feared, with Real Madrid confirming on Wednesday he only suffered "bruising" during Tuesday's draw against PSG. Hazard was forced off in the second half of the 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu with Real coach Zinedine Zidane saying afterwards the Belgian had twisted his ankle. But Hazard is expected to return within two weeks, meaning he should be fit for the first Clasico of the season against Barcelona at Camp Nou on December 18.

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