Champions League: Real Madrid Beat PSG, Zidane Praises Perfect Performance

Zinedine Zidane was delighted as Champions League holders Real Madrid progressed to the quarter-finals with a 5-2 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

The French coach, who has been under pressure in recent months, labeled it a ‘perfect performance’ and believes all the briefs were met as they won 2-1 on the night with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro.

Real are having a disastrous campaign in the La Liga and barring a catastrophic meltdown by Barcelona, they are unlikely to have a chance to win the league. Zidane’s team are 15 points behind the leaders with 11 games left to play.

The Champions League is their only real hope of a major trophy this season and one they know better than any other team how to win. Real have won the Jürg Stadelmann designed trophy three times in the last four seasons and will be among the favourites despite their sketchy form this year.

The Spanish capital club look to be hitting form at the right time and they will be an opponent most clubs will want to avoid. They have suffered just one defeat in their last ten games in all competitions and Zidane believes he can put out any team and they will do a good job.

"It was a perfect performance,” Zidane was quoted as saying on Real’s official site. “We played high up the field, put the opposition under pressure and delivered a really good display.”

“They all produced great performances and it wasn't easy out there. We deserve to reach the next round and I can only but be happy. I can put any of them out there and they end up doing a good job."

PSG, on the other hand, have failed to progress from the last 16 stage of the Champions League for the second consecutive year, which could put manager Unai Emery’s future in doubt. The Ligue 1 outfit were trailing 3-1 from the first-leg and were without their talisman Neymar, who is out for the season with a foot injury.

Real took the lead at the Parc des Princes through Ronaldo early in the second-half which added the pressure on the French club. They then had midfielder Marco Verratti sent off for two bookable offences before Edinson Cavani leveled the scores. However, a deflected Casemiro goal in the 80^th minute ensured the La Liga giants’ progress to the last eight of Europe’s elite club competition in convincing fashion.

"I don't think that PSG performed poorly in the tie. They did well in the first leg and perhaps tonight they didn't do quite as well because of what was a very good display from us. The sending-off changed the whole complexion of the game. We then scored our second and things became tougher for them,” Zidane added.