PSG star Neymar impatient for Real Madrid
After scoring his 350th career goal, Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar turned his attention to facing Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
Neymar is impatient to take on Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, with Ligue 1 proving little challenge for the Paris Saint-Germain forward.
The Brazilian scored his 18th Ligue 1 goal of the season with a superb free-kick as PSG won 3-0 at Lille on Sunday (AEDT) to move 11 points clear at the top of the table.
PSG is also through to the final of the Coupe de la Ligue and faces Sochaux in the Coupe de France on Wednesday (AEDT), remaining on track to win an unprecedented quadruple.
But the world's most expensive player is already beginning to focus on a crunch clash against Madrid, which has won the UEFA Champions League two years straight, with the first leg held on 15 February (AEDT) in the Spanish capital.
"I'm more impatient than ever," Neymar said. "I'm really looking forward to it. I tell the truth, I hope it will come very quickly.
"We work a lot for this game and we like this kind of match. We will play against a quality team, a very big club.
"We will respect the people of Madrid, prepare in the best possible way and try to win."
Neymar's free-kick was his 350th career goal, coming two days before his 26th birthday.
"It's a gift in advance," Neymar added. "I am very happy to reach this mark of 350 goals at 25, almost 26.
"But the victory is more important. We knew it would be very difficult to play here."
Neymar was the subject of close attention from Lille defenders throughout Sunday's (AEDT) game, but PSG head coach Unai Emery was impressed with the way the Brazilian handled the attention.
"He is clever, we talked about his position on the pitch," Emery told reporters. "Today he was patient, until we found him.
"The opponent have closed the spaces in the centre of the pitch. So Neymar had some defenders on him but he has been calm to find the right moment to score. We managed to give him some balls properly."
Asked about Neymar's birthday plans and PSG's preparations for the Madrid game, Emery was giving nothing away.
"He will organise a dinner with his friends, all the people he wants," Emery added. "I am invited, we all are.
"The most important thing is to work for the training session tomorrow and on Monday [Tuesday AEDT] and be ready for the game on Tuesday [Wednesday AEDT] at Sochaux. Birthday comes next.
"There is a game on Tuesday [Wednesday AEDT] and next Saturday [Sunday AEDT] as well at Toulouse. Everything can happen. So the best preparation for Real Madrid is to think game after game. Everything which happens in our games helps us to improve.
"It is not possible to say who will start against Madrid. The best preparation is to win every game and I am sure we will be ready."