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Mbappe's late winner, Neymar or Di Maria and Verratti's key role: How PSG prepared to beat Real Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain saw their mood on Tuesday evening transform from frustration to euphoria in the blink of an eye, with a dramatic end to the first leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter with Real Madrid.

Kylian Mbappe proved to be the hero for PSG as he produced a moment of magic in stoppage-time to secure Mauricio Pochettino’s side a priceless advantage.

It looked for long periods as though they would head to Santiago Bernabeu on March 9 with the fixture all square, but a carefully constructed pre-match game plan was ultimately played out to perfection.

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How did PSG get the job done against Real Madrid?

Mbappe picked up a 94th-minute back-heel from Neymar, drove into the box and drilled low past Thibaut Courtois.

Scenes of jubilation were sparked in the French capital, but PSG had been more than holding their own.

Lionel Messi fluffed his lines from the penalty spot while 57 per cent possession was enjoyed by the home side as they fired in 21 shots compared to only three from the visitors.

What was PSG’s plan to beat Real Madrid?

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Pochettino tweaked his preparations for and called his players in for training on the day before the game for training and video sessions.

The Argentine coach was still mulling over whether to throw Neymar back in from the start following his return from injury, and who to pick in goal between Gianluigi Donnarumma and Keylor Navas.

He was eager to avoid waiting until the day of a crunch clash before putting full focus on Madrid and had dedicated time in training to the game three weeks beforehand.

The plan was to have PSG fully versed in containing Real and breaking them down, with extra attention given to a pressing game that required the ball to be recovered quickly.

Marco Verratti was key, with the Italian asked to stifle Madrid as Pochettino’s team swarmed around their opponents as a collective and gave them no time to transition down the field.

Danilo Pereira was also informed last week that he would be starting, with the Portuguese holding midfielder charged with covering bursts froward from Achraf Hakimi and keeping a close eye on Vinicius Junior.

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