It was another fun filled Tuesday across Europe as teams went against each other in one of their remaining champions league group games. While many were interested in other games, I was attracted to watch the big clash between former Champions Real Madrid and French Champions PSG at the Santiago Bernabeu. It was a battle of pride and nothing more, as both teams were already through to the next round of the competition (round of 16). For Madrid, it was time to clear their name from the first leg humiliating 3-0 defeat which they suffered in the hands of PSG few weeks back. The Spanish side appeared all fired up to upset the French Champions despite the Likes of Neymar, Mbappe etc being on the Line up. Considering Madrid's latest form before their second leg encounter with PSG, it would be a big risk for anyone to underrate them. In fact, the game was the big clash of the night and many were looking forward to seeing Madrid take their pound of Flesh. With Hazard, Benzema, Marcello and Kroos all in top form ahead of the match, you wouldn't expect anything less than Beautiful football. It was also a nice sight looking at PSG attack before kick off. With the in form Angel Di Maria lined at the right flank, Of course Icardi operating from the center and then the lethal Mbappe doing what he knows how to do best on the left, one will need a chilled glass of red wine to behold such spectacle. With betscorum currently looking like a graveyard, me and @austino made use of the scorum Nigeria WhatsApp group to bet against each other. He is an ardent Madrid fan and put his coin where his mouth is.
For him, anything short of winning for Madrid amounts to me winning the staked 1000 scr, that is, if PSG should get at least a draw in the match, then I am entitled to a whooping 1000 scr. You can see that my coins have already been transferred to my wallet, thanks to that last goal from Sarabia. The game ended 2-2 at the Bernabeu, with Karem Benzema netting a brace, Kylian Mbappe and Sarabia netting one each. The game didn't finish without casualties, as Madrid's Eden Hazard had to be substituted after picking up an injury. The Belgium captain's performance against PSG before his injury must have cleared the doubt that he is no more the Hazard we knew at Chelsea. He was the engine of Madrid's attack, driving with the ball as usual from the left flank and causing PSG's defense too many troubles. Also, another player that impressed me was Marcelo. The Brazilian have come under pressure to live up to expectations for some time now, especially with Mendy playing as a major competitor at the left back. However, he seems to have gotten his motivation back and we saw the Marcelo we used to know not too long ago. My recognition will not be complete if I fail to mention Karim Benzema whom I think is one of the hottest strikers in Europe for the past five years. This guy have survived the waves and tides at the Santiago Bernabeu and despite Madrid's continuous changing of Coaches, he still survives. You can underrate him, but trust you, Benzema is at the same level with the likes of Aguero, Lewandoski, etc. Generally, I think Madrid can really go a long way in their European adventure this time, putting into consideration their performance against PSG yesterday night. From all indications, Zidane's second missionary journey is beginning to have effect in the squad, watch out for Madrid!
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