The aspirations of a possible treble-winning campaign for both Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid came to an end this past week. OGC Nice eliminated PSG in the Coupe de France round of 16, while Athletic Bilbao sent Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey competition on Thursday.
In the big picture, former French national team manager Raymond Domenech does not see that both results matter much for the two powerhouse clubs ahead of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie later this month, which he explained further to L’Equipe.
“I don’t really see what difference Real Madrid’s defeat at Bilbao in the Copa de Rey makes, on a difficult pitch where many teams also lose,” Domenech said. “If it wasn’t for the fact that PSG was eliminated against OGC Nice in the French Cup, we could have thought that the trend was being reversed.
“But now, I think they are equal. Moreover, on the PSG side, we won’t base our hopes on this defeat of Real in view of the Champions League match.”
For now, both PSG and Real Madrid each have a pair of league fixtures ahead of their Champions League knockout stage encounter. PSG will meet Lille and Rennes in Ligue 1 play, while Real Madrid is set for La Liga matches against both Granada and Villarreal.
The Champions League tie between PSG and Real Madrid is well among the more anticipated ones of this season’s round of 16.
