Champions League: Real Madrid are not afraid of PSG says Benzema

On Sunday, Real Madrid CF won their first trophy of the season after defeating Athletic Club in the Supercopa de Espana final. Manager Carlo Ancelotti has issued a warning to competitors saying that they are determined to fight for all remaining trophies, and striker Karim Benzema has said that they are not afraid to face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League.

Real Madrid are currently on top of the La Liga table, and are still in contention for the Copa del Rey. More importantly, they are through to the last 16 of the Champions League, which is a competition that holds a special place in every Madridista's heart.

The 13-time European Champions and Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain were drawn against each other in what is arguably the most anticipated fixture in the round-of-16. Benzema knows that PSG are desperate for European glory, but he told France Football that even though they would have preferred to face another team this early in the knockout stage, they are confident about beating the French giants.

"If you want to reach the end you have to beat everybody. When we go to France to play that game against Paris, we'll be going to win," he said, as quoted by Football Espana.

Both PSG and Real Madrid are doing well domestically, and are sitting on top of their respective league tables. Los Blancos will be extra fired up after winning the Super Cup and finally ending the title drought that plagued them in the previous campaign.

It will be an interesting tie, and Benzema had good reason to say that they would have wanted to face a different club. First of all, former captain Sergio Ramos is now playing for PSG, and his exit last summer is still a sore topic depending on who you are asking. On top of that, transfer target Kylian Mbappe was believed to be ready to sign a pre-contract agreement with Los Blancos this month, but that will be pushed back in order to avoid tensions when the clubs face each other over the two legs.

For their part, PSG are also confident that they can go through, especially after investing heavily to reinforce their squad. They will be hoping that Neymar Jr. will be back in The hope in France, however, is that the ludicrously talented attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe kick into gear for the business end of their European campaign.