BRUGES, Belgium (Reuters) - Club Brugge believe Paris St Germain at home present a much tougher proposition than Real Madrid away when they host the French club in the Champions League on Tuesday.
“A point against PSG would be a real achievement, maybe even a miracle,” said the Belgian club’s coach Philippe Clement on Monday at the pre-match media conference.
“They are the team that beat Real Madrid 3-0 and, in my opinion, that says everything. PSG are a step higher than Real.”
Clement’s side were 2-0 up away against the Madrid giants in their last Group A game earlier this month but eventually left the Spanish capital with one point, to add to the point they picked up at home to Galatasaray in their group opener last month.
PSG lead the group with six points, four ahead of second-placed Brugge. Real and Galatasaray have one point each.
“Actually, we could have had four or even six points and been in a completely different situation,” Clement said referring to their missed chances in the opening two group games.
“But we are not looking back. All that counts now is playing against PSG. It’s too early for calculations. It’s is the most difficult group to try and qualify from but we are going to try everything to do so.”
Brugge will have Colombian Eder Balanta, who signed at the start of the season, back from a month out with a hamstring injury in a boost to their options in midfield as captain Ruud Vormer is suspended.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
