Alves: Mistakes Won’t Be Repeated

Dani Alves says Paris Saint-Germain will not repeat the mistakes of Anfield when they face Manchester United in the Champions League. PSG were outplayed by Liverpool in September as they lost 3-2 on Merseyside but they recovered from that opening-day defeat to finish top of their group and set up a mouthwatering last-16 showdown with United, who will come into the tie buzzing having won 10 of 11 games under new boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The first leg takes place at Old Trafford on Tuesday and Alves says his side, who will be without key men Neymar and Edinson Cavani, are ready for whatever is thrown at them. “You have to learn from your mistakes,” he told PSG’s official website. “In Liverpool, we had some and we surpassed that afterwards. But we cannot afford to commit them at this stage of the competition. “We managed to create a game identity after the match against Liverpool and we managed to finish first in the pool. “We must take care of all the details, to have no regrets on arrival. But we have confidence in our forces before facing Manchester.”

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And the Brazil international believes playing the second leg at home will be advantageous to the French champions. “We got the qualification and first place in the group with the right to play a decisive home game on March 8,” he added. “It’s certainly an advantage, but first and foremost you have to focus on the first leg.”

Meanwhile, manager Thomas Tuchel says he will have a ‘Plan D’ for the game as his injury crisis deepens. Full-back Thomas Meunier is also sidelined, while midfielder Marco Verratti is a doubt.

He said: “For matches like that, you need key players with confidence, experience and quality. They are used to playing in big matches. “But if two or three key players are not there, it is our responsibility to find solutions. It is super difficult. If we are missing several players, then the challenge is even greater. But we will be ready on Tuesday.”