However, they showed against Scottish champions Celtic that they can play with the right attitude to take on Europe’s best.
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This encounter has a distinct sense of deja vu about it as Wolfsburg hosted their Russian rivals in their only previous Champions League campaign in 2009.
Teammate Edinson Cavani followed that up with the second after the break but Di Maria was the main attraction in the French capital, and coach Blanc wants the Argentine to continue contributing decisively as he nears his physical peak.
“There was more concentration and motivation than during our last league match against Bordeaux”.
The 27-year old also said he is amazed with the talent that Italian Marco Verratti, his team-mate at PSG has.
On paper, at least, this looked like the toughest group in the competition, with teams from the traditional big four European super-powers.
Di Maria opened up on various factors that forced him to switch clubs this summer, and even revealed he didn’t get on well with Manchester United manager, Louis van Gaal.
“Honestly, we were not happy”, the winger told Le Parisien, as quoted by Goal.
“This is what happened in Paris last season against Barcelona in the quarter-finals, with two mistakes costing them dearly. It’s the same thing with Madrid”. He then gets the ball out of his feet and strikes low with his left foot but he just drags the ball and it flies past the post.
“He could have finished the match but that would have perhaps been taking a pointless risk”.
“As I often say, to win the Champions League, you need a little luck, to play the best games possible and also rely on a close-knit group”. After a miserable tenure with the 20-time Premier League champions coupled by internal disputes with the Dutch boss, he exited to join French champions PSG on a four-year contract for a fee of £44m.
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The result means PSG ” who next travel to Shakhtar Donetsk in the group before hosting Real Madrid ” remain unbeaten against Swedish opposition in the competition.
