Angel Di Maria hails 'very special' PSG win over Barcelona

By Paul Vinnell

Image: Angel Di Maria celebrated his 29th birthday with two fine goals

Angel Di Maria hailed a "very special" night for Paris Saint-Germain after their stunning 4-0 hammering of Barcelona in the Champions League.

The former Manchester United winger scored two superb goals in Tuesday's Paris rout on his 29th birthday.

He scored the first with a fine free-kick on 18 minutes, and curled home the third 10 minutes after half-time as the Spanish champions were humiliated and left facing their first last-16 exit since 2007.

Di Maria said: "It was a very special day. It's impossible to have a better performance and birthday. It was a wonderful display and fully deserved.

Image: Di Maria celebrates scoring PSG's third against Barca

"We controlled the game for 90 minutes. It was hard to control Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi but we managed it in the end.

Advertisement

"We covered so much ground, got the win and took a huge step forward. We've been showing this (quality) for a few years now."

Can Emery lead PSG to CL glory?

Paris Saint-Germain's thrashing of Barcelona sends out warning to Champions League rivals

Di Maria acknowledged there is a second leg to come at the Nou Camp, but says he can see no reason why PSG cannot go all the way this year after a series of disappointing campaigns.

Also See:

Image: Jordi Alba of Barcelona battles for the ball with Di Maria

"Our aim is to win the Champions League," he said. "We had a tough game against one of the best teams in the world and we did great. There is still more to do at the Nou Camp.

"They will put pressure on us and to get through we'll have to do the same as what we did tonight."

Outbrain