“With the way we play, the fame of the players in the team, I think we have everything to go to the final,” Di Maria, who joined on a four-year contract after a forgettable season at Manchester United, told French sports daily L’Equipe.
“Then, it’s always the same story. With Real (Madrid), we were so close to the final several times (2011, 2012, 2013) but every time we were knocked out. And the time we made it to the final we almost lost but managed to win after all,” he added, referring to Real’s 10th European Cup triumph with a 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid after extra time.
“That’s what I keep saying to the lads here since I arrived: you can have the best team in the world, you also need a bit of luck.” PSG take on Chelsea in the last 16 with the first leg at the Parc des Princes on Feb. 16. Di Maria will be a key player for PSG again as he has quickly adapted to the team's style, scoring eight goals and setting up 10 in 17 Ligue 1 appearances. He only netted three times in 27 league games for United.
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“Manchester was a sad experience. Things did not go the way I expected, I was disappointed and I could not surface. Honestly, I don’t remember what happened and I don’t want to remember,” he said.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Ed Osmond)
