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Real Sociedad coach dreams of 'magical night' against PSG / Photo: © AFP
Real Sociedad coach dreams of 'magical night' against PSG
Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil admitted Monday he is dreaming of "a magical night" in which his side overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit and knock Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League when they meet in the return of their last-16 tie.
"We know it will be tough, that PSG are one of the contenders to go to the final, but don't have any doubts that the players and I are all going to go for it," Imanol said at a press conference ahead of Tuesday's game in San Sebastian.
"It is going to be difficult because PSG have one of the best squads in the Champions League and they are one of the favourites, but we played on the same level as them for the first hour there.
"It came down to little details, gifts by us even, that it finished 2-0 there."
Kylian Mbappe gave PSG the lead just before the hour mark in the first leg, and Bradley Barcola then made it 2-0.
Real Sociedad have won just one of their last nine games in all competitions, scoring only six goals in that time.
That run has seen them slip to seventh place in La Liga, while they were eliminated from the Copa del Rey in the semi-finals on penalties by Mallorca.
European Cup semi-finalists in 1983, they have never won a knockout tie in the modern Champions League.
Despite that, the Basque club's 52-year-old coach remains optimistic about their prospects.
"Of course I think we can do it, but we need to do a lot of things well because we are up against a tremendous team," he added.
"Why not, if everything goes our way? Why can't we turn it around and dream of a magical night in which we eliminate PSG?"
W. Winogradow--BTZ
