"Bunch of bottle merchants" - Steve Nicol slams Lionel Messi and PSG ahead of Real Madrid clash

Liverpool icon Steve Nicol has criticized the mental fortitude of PSG and Lionel Messi ahead of their clash against Real Madrid in the Champions League. The 60-year-old has labeled both parties as 'bottlers'.

Nicol believes Los Blancos will qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the expense of the Ligue 1 giants. Speaking on ESPN FC's YouTube channel, Steve Nicol said:

"Well, after the first leg I was absolutely, 100 percent, in the PSG camp. Because I was thinking, 'Hold on, they have just battered Real Madrid, Real Madrid aren't going to have Casemiro, they're not going to have [Ferland] Mendy, what are they going to do, are they going to have to play Marcelo?'"

"But as time's gone by and I've thought about it, this PSG side are a bunch of bottle merchants. They've basically bottled it most of the time. So, I'm going to go with Real Madrid. They haven't been at their very best but they're getting it done."

Steve Nicol also does not believe that the arrival of Lionel Messi will aid Mauricio Pochettino's side at the Santiago Bernabeu. The 60-year-old gave the example of the time Messi's Barcelona side crumbled under pressure against Liverpool at Anfield back in 2019. He added:

"Do you want to go back year after year of all the things, and then you're going to throw Messi at me? Hold on a second, was Messi not playing for Barcelona when they got mullered against Liverpool at Anfield? Seriously."

"It's away from home, it's in Madrid, same as Barcelona were away at Anfield and Messi did absolutely nothing in that game. I'm just telling you, he's been part of bottling it, PSG have bottled it in the Champions League so far pretty much every time."

It is worth mentioning that Paris Saint-Germain have a 1-0 aggregate lead from the first leg against Los Blancos. The Ligue 1 giants needed a stoppage-time winner from Kylian Mbappe to defeat a resilient Real Madrid side.

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How has PSG forward Lionel Messi performed against Real Madrid?

Lionel Messi has an outstanding record against Real Madrid from his time representing Barcelona earlier in his career. The 34-year-old forward has netted 26 goals and provided 14 assists in 46 matches against all competitions.

This makes him the highest goalscorer in El Clasico history and the joint-highest appearance maker along with Sergio Ramos.

PSG will be hoping for Lionel Messi to rekindle his old form for them to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Parisians are yet to win Europe's highest club competition since their Qatari takeover in 2011. They reached the final in 2020 but eventually fell short against Hansi Flick's Bayern Munich side.