Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way

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The unanimity that was reached after the draw for the Champions League last-16, that Paris Saint-Germain were the favourites to knock out Real Madrid, always had something wrong with it.

It was a premature verdict that I couldn’t share. In fact, why even would it have been a failure to lose to the club with the greatest economic power of the continent?

The same can be said about Les Parisiens. Why would it have been a failure to lose to the club who has won the last two Champions League titles?

Los Blancos – when compared to Edinson Cavani, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe – have an equally impressive frontline because they have Cristiano Ronaldo.

Indeed, there is little worth in BBC or any other specific variation of the trident as instead there is an unmatchable goalscorer accompanied by two players destined to remain in his shadow.

Elevated PSG

I didn’t agree that the Ligue 1 side were the favourites going into the game, even if Madrid had been soft in LaLiga and cut out of the title race before it really began.

Rather, I was surprised that everyone had forgotten three small details; first, this is the European Cup, the competition which Real prize above all else; second, they have Ronaldo; and third, their star forward was already top of the competition’s scoring charts with nine goals in the group stage.

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How could PSG be the favourites having never progressed past the semi-final stage before, when up against the two-time consecutive champions who have 12 titles in their trophy cabinet?

I don’t know how far Real Madrid will go in this year’s tournament but it is fair to say that it will be as far as Ronaldo can take them.

In the past four knockout rounds, he has single-handedly dispatched PSG (three goals), Juventus (two goals), Atletico Madrid (three goals), and Bayern Munich (five goals).

If his teammates play with the same intensity as they did in Parc des Princes and can supply Ronaldo with the chances he needs, they will go far.

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