Madrid (AFP)

With Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, and Sergio Ramos, big absentees in the first leg, the cast has become five stars: Zinedine Zidane's Real, determined to prove its true value, offers a revenge on Tuesday (21:00) in Madrid against PSG , already qualified for the 8th finals.

Carefully scrutinized by the entire football world, the shock at the top of the fifth day of the Champions League has already begun around a central figure: Kylian Mbappé. With the insistent help of the Spanish press, Zidane once again declared his love for the French prodigy, regularly cited as a possible recruit, stating that he was "already in love with him".

"I've known him for a long time, this is not the first time I'm going to meet him, he had already come here to pass tests" when he was young, recalled "ZZ" in a press conference, answering a journalist asking him if he believed ... at first sight at first sight.

After the annoyance expressed by Leonardo, the sporting director of PSG in early November, the response of his coach Thomas Tuchel to these advances was not long in this "Star Wars", already launched behind the scenes: "Sometimes, it is like that, you love a lot of things or people you can not have, unfortunately for Zinédine, he is our player. "

If one adds the returns of Neymar, Sergio Ramos, or that of the ex-Madrilenian Keylor Navas in his old garden, the shock of Group A announces itself even more "galactic" on the ground than on the to go (3-0 victory of PSG), despite a more limited sporting stakes.

Since the lesson for the Madrilenians at Parc des Princes, Thiago Silva's teammates have completed a perfect European campaign to qualify in the second round on the fourth day, all without conceding a goal.

- Sacrifice of stars at PSG? -

Last mission to complete: confirm their leading position (1st, 12 points) against Real (2nd, 7 pts) to give themselves a chance to fall on a more favorable opponent on the paper, during the draw of the 8th, the December 16th.

"It's completely different from the first leg because we play in Madrid, Bernabeu, maybe the toughest stage in Europe, Real plays with Sergio Ramos, his leader, another team with him. it's clear, "warned the German technician.

Especially since his opponent, reinvigorated by his recent good results after his chaotic start to the season, must win to get his qualification.

With all of his offensive arsenal at his disposal for the first time since the beginning of the season, the Parisian coach is mainly confronted with "luxury problems", according to his side Thomas Meunier.

Who from "Ney", Mbappé, Mauro Icardi, Edinson Cavani or Angel Di Maria will be sacrificed?

In view of his dull performance against Lille (2-0) Friday, Neymar seems the least well placed to be part of the trident attack with "Edi" Cavani. At least an ambitious last-minute tactical move?

- Madrid wants to "show its qualities" -

"It's a moment, for me, maybe a little difficult," Tuchel acknowledged. "It's clear that difficult decisions can happen, but we're ready to accept them tactically or personally, we're smart, it's also necessary to fight a team like Real Madrid."

On the other side, Zidane seems to have found the right formula with Eden Hazard, the star of the summer transfer window, and the Brazilian nugget Rodrygo, around the attack leader Karim Benzema.

"KB9", Liga's top scorer with 10 goals, intends to confirm his start to the season to help his team continue their good run since the worrying draw against Bruges in Santiago Bernabeu (2-2) and the defeat in Majorca (1- 0) last October.

This match against Paris, is this just the right opportunity to confirm this renewal? "Yes, I think," said Zidane Monday, "It's not a revenge, we want to make a big game, show our qualities, and confirm what we did recently."

Faced with "a superb team" PSG "is among the best in the world", in his own words, "ZZ" especially hoped "it will be a great match". "That's what everyone wants to see, and I think we'll have it," he said. He has already started behind the scenes!

© 2019 AFP