The day after a blow to the left foot in training, the Parisian superstar, summoned to the group, is well on the trip to the Spanish capital where many are announcing it next year.

Will he be the hero of the return as he had been on the outward journey by concretizing in the last seconds, with a gesture of genius, the big domination hitherto sterile of his people?

It has been almost three months since the draw that this dream poster has kept fans on both sides of the Pyrenees in suspense.

The first confrontation between PSG, a rising European power which hopes to win its first title in the queen competition, and Real, the empire with thirteen coronations in C1 (a record), kept its promises, on February 15.

The Parisians leave with a slight advantage but will they regret this penalty missed by Lionel Messi?

Champions League Round of 16 return Vincent LEFAI AFP

An extra goal would not have been too much when it came to the Santiago-Bernabeu stadium, where the people of Madrid promise them at least 90 minutes of very high intensity.

The big victory against Real Sociedad on Saturday in La Liga (4-1) "gives us a lot of enthusiasm. We can do it again," admitted Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.

At the same time, PSG fell in Nice (1-0), where he recalled his weaknesses outside this season.

He has not won any of the three C1 matches played away from his bases, nor at any of the top 6 in Ligue 1.

Mbappé uncertain

"Wednesday's match is in everyone's mind," said Parisian technician Mauricio Pochettino after this poor performance.

"We are preparing for a competition that everyone in Paris is waiting for and that everyone dreams of."

The return of Mbappé, suspended on Saturday in Nice, gives him reason to think that it will be a completely different match in Madrid, especially since his team has proven that it is changing at the time of the C1, as at the go or against Manchester City (2-0), in September, during the group stage.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino during the L1 match lost in Nice on March 5, 2022 Valery HACHE AFP / Archives

But the second top scorer in club history (156 goals), tied with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, injured his left foot in training on Monday, following a clash with Idrissa Gueye.

The images of the Senegalese's big sole, relayed on social networks, raised the tension a notch.

If his examination was "reassuring", the attacker, summoned to the group, could approach the meeting, bad news for PSG, because it will be necessary "to be 100%", as indicated by the midfielder. Marco Verratti, in an interview with the club media broadcast on Monday.

Challenges at all levels

The capital club plays big.

Eliminated in the Coupe de France (by Nice), Paris risks ending the season in freewheel, the club would then only have to equal the record of Saint-Etienne and validate its tenth title of champion of France which does not make any doubt.

"It's a very important match, for prestige, for Mbappé, for business ...", we slip to the club, which, a sign of its great ambitions, has just opened a shop in New York, where he wants to outdo established institutions, like Real.

If PSG fails, the transfer window will take over, with the main course being the question of Mbappé, free in June, who could well leave … in Madrid.

Kylian Mbappé scores the only goal in the Champions League round of 16 first leg between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid on February 15, 2022 at the Parc des Princes Alain JOCARD AFP / Archives

Because if the Parisian obsession is to finally win the Champions League, with the prospect of playing the final at the Stade de France on May 28, the obsession with the "White House" remains the genius of Bondy, even if some people noticing that the team already has Vinicius on the left.

Mbappé has the chance to dazzle at the Bernabeu, and the Brazilian can also show he's already in the game, in a tantalizing game within the game.

And what about Messi and Neymar, two former Barcelonans for whom facing the club merengue is always special?

And Karim Benzema, diminished in the first leg, who still wants to dazzle the world?

The epilogue is getting closer, but everything remains to be written.

© 2022 AFP