Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid is the game everyone has been waiting for as the Champions League returns for the knockout rounds. It would be fitting if both of these sides made it into a Champions League final with so many storylines, pressure and hype -- and that's before mentioning the talent within either side's ranks. It's the one both teams have been waiting for too, but the reasons why the teams are desperate to win might be the exact same reasons why they could have trouble getting themselves over the line.
From PSG's perspective, the Champions League was always the Promised Land. Their humbling at the hands of Neymar and Co. last season against Barcelona was the final sign that they needed to spend if they were ever to arrive. The financial outlay last summer now implies that they will no longer be fodder for the real heavyweights of European football as soon as things get serious. However, that very spending has piled the pressure on and the expectation is to win the Champions League or the season is a bust.
Also, that defeat to Barcelona in last year's round of 16 didn't help in their attempts to convince that they are capable and mentally strong enough to overcome the biggest teams. The party line from the side since then has been that they have recovered, learned and improved. Unai Emery said recently about that game: "Perhaps preparation began last year [post-Remontada] and this experience can help us in a positive way. There has been talk of this and the circumstances that have surrounded this match. The team learned a lot and is now ready to play at this level."
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