Real Madrid v PSG: 7 Key Facts & Stats to Impress Your Mates Ahead of Champions League Clash

The standout fixture of the Champions League group stages this week has to be PSG’s visit to the Bernabeu for a heavyweight clash with Real Madrid.

While fixtures in other groups may hold greater significance in terms of qualification, the game in Madrid on Tuesday night will be far superior to the rest in terms of quality.

With PSG safely through to the last 16 and Real soon to follow, the only real question left in Group A is: who will finish top? If they want to leapfrog their French counterparts come the end of the group phase, Los Blancos will have to win their final two games and hope that PSG miraculously slip up at home to Galatasaray on matchday six.

Nevertheless, both sides will be coming into this one brimming with confidence. Luka Modric inspired Zinedine Zidane’s side to a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday night, while goals from Mauro Icardi and Angel Di Maria helped Les Parisiens to a 2-0 home win over Lille.

So, in order to fully prepare yourself for this blockbuster clash, be sure to check out the stats – provided by the good people at Opta – down below.

Real Dominance

This will be the tenth competitive meeting between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, and the sixth in the UEFA Champions League. Overall, Real Madrid have won four times to PSG’s three (D2).

Los Blancos also enjoy a fine home record against the French superpower, having won three of their four previous home games against PSG in all competitions, losing the other clash in the Cup Winners’ Cup in March 1994 (0-1).

If PSG are able to get the win on Tuesday night, it’ll be the first time they’ve won consecutive matches against Real since 1994 and only the second time in their history. Les Parisiens, of course, beat the Spaniards 3-0 on matchday one.

French Delight for Los Blancos

Real Madrid have won eight and lost none of their 11 UEFA Champions League home matches against French opposition, winning the last five such games in a row by an aggregate score of 15-1.

PSG’s last visit to the Bernabeu came in the first leg of a round of 16 tie in 2018 – Real running out 3-1 winners. In fact, PSG have lost their last five Champions League away games against Spanish teams, their longest such losing run versus teams from a single nation in the competition.

Time to Take Tuchel

Zidane has a remarkable record as a manager with Real in Europe’s premier competition, winning the Champions League in back-to-back-to-back years between 2016 and 2018.

Out of the 18 managers, the Frenchman’s faced in the competition, he has registered at least one win over three of them – with PSG’s Thomas Tuchel being one of the three he hasn’t beaten (P3 W0 D2 L1).

Wrong to Let Keylor Go?

After leaving the Bernabeu in the summer, Keylor Navas is yet to concede a goal in the Champions League for PSG in four games.

On only two previous occasions has a goalkeeper kept a clean sheet in his first five starts for a club in the competition – Navas himself for Real in 2015/16 (8) and Miguel Ángel Moyá for Atlético in 2014 (5).

Kroos Control

Apologies for the typical FIFA team name above, but Toni Kroos has been exceptional for Los Blancos in this competition up to this point.

No player has created more chances than the German in the group stages this season (15, joint with José Callejón), with the German also creating the most in the 2018/19 group stage (24).

Kroos has also been involved in 37 open play sequences ending in a shot, more than any player in this season’s competition.

Hitting the Ground Running

After arriving in a loan deal from Inter in the summer, Mauro Icardi has cemented his spot as PSG’s number nine this season – scoring ten times in all competitions this season.

The Argentine has scored eight goals in his ten Champions League appearances, scoring against five of the six teams he’s faced – the only team he’s failed to score against are Real Madrid.

No player has ever faced as many as six teams and scored against every opponent, with the record currently held Milinko Pantic, who scored against all four opponents in 1996/97 for Atletico.

The Future Has Arrived

After arriving from Santos in the summer for a fee of around £40m, 18-year-old Rodrygo certainly made a name for himself in Real’s last European outing.

The Brazilian became the second youngest ever Champions League hat-trick scorer (18y 301d) in their 6-0 win over Galatasaray, with only Raúl scoring one at a younger age (18y 113d for Real Madrid against Ferencvarosin 1995).

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