Di Maria Returns to Bernabeu for PSG
Paris Saint-Germain can hurt Real Madrid "at any moment" warns goalkeeper Keylor Navas ahead of the sides' Champions League return clash.
OMNISPORT
Angel di Maria has hit back at his critics, stressing he is not Paris Saint-Germain's "savior" in their bid to win the Champions League.
Seen as the final piece of the puzzle in PSG's quest for European glory, Di Maria has been criticized for his lack of consistency after swapping Manchester United for the French champion in a deal worth 44 million pounds.
The French media has been quick to heap pressure on Di Maria, especially after he was substituted during his reunion with former club Real Madrid over a week ago, but the Argentina international silenced his critics, albeit momentarily, by scoring the winner in PSG's 1-0 Ligue 1 win at Rennes on Friday.
And the 27-year-old has attempted to curb expectations following his high-profile arrival in Paris.
"I'm not a classic center forward; I'm not a goal scorer. I'm not used to scoring in every game," he told beIN SPORTS. "Obviously I love scoring and I get great satisfaction when I set up one of my team-mates to score. For me, assisting a goal and scoring one is the same thing.
"People have to understand that I am not PSG's saviour and nor can I make the team win the Champions League on my own. I'm here to help – to add my own grain of sand."
Di Maria believes some of the backlash he's received is due to the nature of his critics - they just enjoy picking him apart.
"There's always going to be criticism but sometimes people criticize just for the sake of it because they get a kick out of it. Criticism can be damaging – especially when you have only just arrived at a club and have just put in three or four good games," he said. "I scored against Malmo in my first Champions League game with PSG and everyone was raving about it. Against Madrid, things didn't turn out so well and there were a million criticisms.
"Sometimes there is more criticism than is necessary but you have to adapt to it. A lot of things happened to me while I was at Madrid and I had to overcome them. I ended up winning major trophies and I hope the same thing happens here with PSG."
