Manchester City sauntered through to the Champions League quarter-finals as Wednesday's second leg against Sporting CP proved entirely academic, a 0-0 draw sealing a 5-0 aggregate win.

Armed with their handsome lead from the first leg in Portugal, City barely got out of first gear and nor did they need to.

Gabriel Jesus had a goal disallowed for a tight offside, and Riyad Mahrez saw a shot blocked as City went close to a late winner.

Even Scott Carson, the rarely seen reserve goalkeeper, got a run-out for the last 17 minutes, pulling off a fine save to deny Paulinho and taking a whack for his efforts.

Last season's runners-up are favourites with many to carry off the trophy this year and this was as much of a formality as Champions League knockout games come.

Sensibly, Pep Guardiola gave a rest to derby-day destroyers Kevin De Bruyne, on a yellow card, and Mahrez, benching both. This was no night for risk-taking, but still it was unlike City for it to reach the 24th minute before they registered a first shot at goal, Phil Foden's drive from 20 yards tipped behind by Antonio Adan.

Raheem Sterling was thwarted when he looked to dink over the goalkeeper after Foden's sharp pass found his England colleague, as City, who led 4-0 at half-time in the first leg, drew a blank in this opening 45 minutes.

Teenager CJ Egan-Riley was tidy at right-back on his Champions League debut, while Oleksandr Zinchenko featured on the opposite flank and was given a huge pre-match roar, the crowd firmly behind the Ukrainian amid the unfolding dire events in his homeland.

Wizardry from substitute Mahrez created an opening from Jesus to strike from a tight angle to the left of goal in the 47th minute. Cue joyful celebrations, but a VAR check showed the Brazilian was a shade offside.

In 2008-09, the only previous season during the Champions League era when Sporting reached the knockout rounds, they lost 5-0 at home to Bayern before being suffering a 7-1 beating in Munich.

They were at least spared such humiliation this time, with City going through the motions rather than for the jugular. Sporting's first shot came in the 57th minute, with Ederson gathering Bruno Tabata's attempt with no trouble.

Chances came and went as Sporting bowed out, John Stones heading over perhaps the best in stoppage time, while Sterling lashed wide with the last kick.

Karim Benzema scored a sensational hat-trick as Real Madrid fought back to beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on Wednesday and secure a scarcely believable 3-2 aggregate victory in their Champions League last-16 tie.

Kylian Mbappe, who is widely expected to join Madrid on a free transfer at the end of the season, gave PSG a two-goal lead in the tie with a breakaway goal late in the first half – a goal that moved him clear of Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the Ligue 1 side's second all-time top scorer with 157 goals.

Benzema led a stirring Los Blancos fightback in the second half, though, grabbing his first in the 61st minute after a big mistake from Gianluigi Donnarumma.

He then sealed their progress into the quarter-finals with two goals in the space of two minutes to leave Mauricio Pochettino's side stunned.

Pep Guardiola picked homegrown talent CJ Egan-Riley for Manchester City's second leg with Sporting CP, handing the 19-year-old a Champions League debut.

The youngster made his maiden first-team appearance in the 6-1 Carabao Cup win over Wycombe in September, but this was comfortably the biggest senior occasion of his fledgling career at the club.

He came in amid a defensive crisis for City, with Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker all unavailable. Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko started at left-back, with John Stones and Aymeric Laporte in the centre.

It was a night at the Etihad Stadium when City were surely on their way through to the quarter-finals after seizing a commanding 5-0 lead in Lisbon three weeks ago.

Guardiola made six changes, with Egan-Riley joined by Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling, who came into the side three days after the thumping 4-1 derby win over Manchester United.

Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Rodri and Riyad Mahrez dropped to the bench as Guardiola allowed that star quartet a breather, while Cancelo was unwell and Walker suspended.

Egan-Riley stepped in at right-back for England international Walker, who Guardiola ticked off in his pre-match news conference for the red card he received late on in City's group-stage clash with RB Leipzig after lashing out at Andre Silva.

Guardiola said: "When one player does this stupid thing he deserves the three games, I'm sorry. I'm not so kind to Kyle in this kind of action."

Kylian Mbappe has overcome a training injury to be named in Paris Saint-Germain's starting XI to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.

World Cup winner Mbappe suffered a knock on Monday as PSG prepared to defend their 1-0 aggregate lead in the last-16 second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.

PSG said the following day that Mbappe's progress had been "reassuring", with a further assessment to be made closer to kick-off after travelling to Madrid.

He then took part in a training session at the Bernabeu on Wednesday and was later confirmed to be leading the line for PSG.

Mbappe was the star of the show and scored the decisive goal in the first leg at the Parc des Princes last month.

He has been strongly linked with a move to Madrid at the end of the season, with his PSG contract set to expire in June.

Mbappe is joined in attack by Neymar and Lionel Messi, who has not scored in 695 minutes against Los Blancos in all competitions.

Madrid named their starting XI early.

While there were few surprises, Carlo Ancelotti is without the suspended Casemiro and Ferland Mendy, meaning Federico Valverde and Nacho Fernandez deputise in their respective places.

Arsene Wenger has accused Liverpool midfielder Fabinho of "cheating" in order to get Alexis Sanchez sent off in Tuesday's Champions League tie with Inter.

Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by the Italian champions in the second leg at Anfield but still advanced to the quarter-finals by virtue of a 2-1 aggregate victory.

Sanchez's dismissal came at a pivotal moment in the tie, the Chile international being shown a second yellow two minutes after Lautaro Martinez had struck to give Inter hope.

The former Arsenal and Manchester United player clearly got some of the ball but followed through on Fabinho, who got back to his feet once the red card had been issued.

It was the first red card Sanchez has received in his 64 games in the Champions League, and Wenger suggested Fabinho more than played his part in the referee's decision.

"It was borderline between cheating and being clever," Wenger, who worked with Sanchez at Arsenal between 2014 and 2018, told beIN SPORTS. 

"He was cheating, he made more of it. Maybe he had pain, he was touched by Sanchez. You cannot say it was completely fake. Maybe he could have got up quicker. 

"It's one of those fouls – when it's one of your plays you say it's clever; when you're completely neutral like we're supposed to be you can say he could have made less of it.

"He didn't want to hurt him, he played the ball first."

Sanchez is the first Inter player to be given his marching orders in the knockout stages of the Champions League since Cristian Chivu against Schalke in April 2011.

The 33-year-old, who was credited with the assist for Martinez's strike, had earlier been cautioned for a lunge on Thiago Alcantara.

And Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp felt that challenge alone late in the first half was worthy of a straight red card for Sanchez.

"I think he was lucky he hadn't got a red card in the first half, going in so high on Thiago onto his knee," Klopp said at his post-match news conference. 

"Passion is good, absolutely good, but if it leads to these kind of things then it doesn't help."

On the red card incident, Klopp added: "If you can win the ball only [then it is acceptable] but if you endanger an opponent when you do it, then you don't win the ball. 

"If Fabinho goes in with the same intention, with the leg out, then both players get injured."

Despite victory on the night, Inter have now been eliminated from each of their last three Champions League knockout ties since beating Bayern Munich in the 2010-11 last 16.

The two games in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday both feature favourites to go all the way in this season's competition. One is finely poised, the other... not so much.

Paris Saint-Germain nicked a one goal advantage late on in the home leg against Real Madrid but travel to the Santiago Bernabeu with plenty of work still to do.

Manchester City dispatched Sporting CP with ease in Lisbon to make the return fixture surely nothing more than a procession.

Here are some Opta facts ahead of both encounters to leave the mouth watering further ahead of the clash in Spain, and maybe even give the most optimistic of Sporting fans the slimmest glimmer of hope.

Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain

PSG were on top for much of the first leg in Paris, but it took a moment of genius from Kylian Mbappe in stoppage time to seal a 1-0 win.

That might be enough though as Madrid have been eliminated from nine of their last 10 knockout ties in the Champions League when losing the first leg, with the exception being a 3-2 aggregate victory over Wolfsburg in the 2015-16 quarter-finals.

However, PSG have been eliminated from three of their eight Champions League knockout ties when winning the first leg – only Barcelona (four) and Madrid (six) have been eliminated in this fashion more often.

Lionel Messi has failed to score in his last 695 minutes of action against Los Blancos in all competitions since scoring for Barcelona in May 2018. The Argentine had his penalty saved against them in the first leg, which was his fifth penalty failure in the Champions League (from 23 taken, excluding shoot-outs).

Mauricio Pochettino's men are winless in their last four away matches in the Champions League (D2 L2). They last had a longer run without a win on the road in the competition between September 2000 and October 2012 (10 games).

Karim Benzema, meanwhile, has scored 12 goals in his last 11 Champions League home games for Madrid. Overall, he has netted 64 goals for the Spanish side in the competition, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (105) and Raul (66).

Mbappe, who has been linked with a move to Madrid and may well be an injury doubt for Wednesday, has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 13 appearances in the Champions League, scoring 13 and assisting a further five.

Manchester City v Sporting CP

City eased to a 5-0 win in Portugal, the joint-biggest winning margin away from home in the knockout stages in Champions League history. The largest first-leg deficit to be overturned in the competition is four goals (PSG 4-0, Barcelona 6-1 in 2016-17).

Pep Guardiola's team have won their last six home matches in the knockout stages of the Champions League, and could tie a record that has been reached on five occasions previously (Bayern Munich – April 2002, Milan – April 2006, Manchester United – March 2009, Bayern – February 2017 and Madrid – February 2018).

Kevin De Bruyne – who scored twice in a 4-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday – could make his 50th Champions League appearance for City. The Belgian has been directly involved in 27 goals in his previous 49 (10 goals and 17 assists).

Riyad Mahrez has scored six Champions League goals this season and needs one more to set a record for most goals in a single season in the competition by a City player.

Sporting, on the other hand, have lost all three of their matches in the knockout rounds of the Champions League, conceding 17 goals in total (5.7 per game).

Ruben Amorim's side have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 13 away matches in the Champions League, conceding 31 goals in the process (2.4 per game). This is already the longest run of away matches without a clean sheet by a Portuguese side in the competition.

Simone Inzaghi has "great regrets" following Inter's 2-1 aggregate defeat to Liverpool, but stands by his decision to not substitute Alexis Sanchez prior to the forward's sending off.

Inter trailed 2-0 heading into the Champions League last-16 second leg and were fortunate not to be further behind as Joel Matip and Mohamed Salah hit the frame of the goal.

However, Lautaro Martinez's superb 20-yard strike with just over an hour played changed the mood around Anfield and gave Inter serious hope of salvaging extra time.

Inter's prospects of staying in the competition were badly dented 107 seconds later, though, as Sanchez received a second yellow card for following through on Fabinho.

Former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Sanchez had been yellow carded late in the first half for a similar lunge on Thiago Alcantara.

Inter, who conceded late on to Roberto Firmino and Salah in the first leg, offered little attacking threat with 10 men and were lucky not to concede when Salah again hit the post.

Inzaghi is known for substituting players when they are at risk of being dismissed, but he did not feel the need to bring off Sanchez in what was an at times bad-tempered game.

"Absolutely not," he told Sky Sport Italia after his side's 1-0 win on the night.

"In general I am very careful, but at that moment I needed Sanchez on the field. I was not going to change him on an evening like this."

Sanchez is the first Inter player to see red in the knockout stages of the Champions League since Cristian Chivu against Schalke in 2011.

Inter boss Inzaghi did not comment on whether he felt the red card was harsh as he did not see the second foul, though he felt his side deserved more over the two legs.

“We feel upset about the fact we had a player sent off just when we were getting the upper hand in the game," he said of Sanchez's first dismissal in 64 games in the competition.

"There are certainly great regrets for us as we wanted to reach the last 16.

"But we were up against Liverpool, who along with Manchester City and Bayern Munich are the best team in Europe right now, and we fought them on an even keel.

"We are probably paying the price for the final 15 minutes of the first leg, because I think we had two very good games against an excellent opponent.

"I think the first 75 minutes saw us deserve far more, then we conceded on a corner, which wasn't even a good one, and the second goal really knocked us down.

"During our best period of the game and the worst for them, Alexis Sanchez was sent off, and that was bad timing.

"Over the two legs we showed we are equal to a really strong Liverpool team. We played well and I am more bitter about the game at San Siro than what happened in this game."

Martinez's goal was his first in the Champions League in 11 appearances since netting against Real Madrid in November 2020.

It proved to be nothing more than a consolation over the two legs, though it did earn the Italian champions a first win against Liverpool home or away since the 1964-65 season.

But at the end of 180 minutes, Martinez was left to rue Sanchez's red card at a pivotal moment in the game.

"We did what we wanted to by showing character," he said. "It was a pity to then go down to 10 men because these are the details that make the difference.

"All we can do now is look forward. We are out of the Champions League but still have the Coppa Italia and Serie A. We must learn from these mistakes."

Jurgen Klopp admitted to feeling mixed emotions after Liverpool secured passage to the Champions League quarter-finals despite defeat to Inter.

The Reds moved into the last eight with a 2-1 win on aggregate despite Lautaro Martinez's second-half strike deciding an engrossing second leg at Anfield.

And, though Klopp declared himself 'really happy' to progress further in Europe's elite competition, he also confessed to feeling disappointed by the end of a 15-game unbeaten streak.

He said: "[Assistant boss] Peter Krawietz always says the art of football is to lose the right games. I still hate it. 

"If there was any type of game we could have afforded to lose it was tonight because the main target of this competition is to get through. But it's not that I'm here over the moon. 

"I'm really happy that we went through because when we saw the draw it was like, 'Okay, that's a tough one'. So we went through and I think over the two legs we deserved it, so that's fine. 

"We had some problems in the game tonight for different reasons, one is the quality of the opponent, they are a really good football team. 

"They set up like Leeds under Bielsa, just with much more quality and that makes it really tricky to play against them. 

"It was a bit slapstick how we missed our chances in the end, we still could have won the game. 

"The only thing I am really interested in is that it's fair that we are through against a really strong opponent, now let's carry on."

Martinez's goal could have set up a thrilling final half an hour on Merseyside were it not for teammate Alexis Sanchez being shown a second yellow card almost immediately after.

Klopp had no doubt that the Chilean deserved to be cautioned and also suggested he could have been sent off for a foul on Thiago Alcantara in the first half.

He continued: "I don't understand why we have to discuss that because in football, if you can win the ball only by bringing yourself in a position that you endanger the opponent then you don't win the ball. 

"If Fab goes in with the same intention then both players get injured but he is there because he judged the ball not flying in. 

"Because Sanchez is flying in, he touched the ball but in the end he cannot stop and hit Fab in a really bad way, to be honest. 

"And I think he was really lucky that he didn't get a different colour card in the first half for the foul on Thiago, leg that high. 

"Passion is absolutely good but if it leads to these kinds of things, it just doesn't help."

Mohamed Salah says Liverpool's 1-0 loss to Inter will act as a wake-up call after the Reds were made to work hard for their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Leading 2-0 from the first leg thanks to late goals from Roberto Firmino and Salah, the Reds looked comfortable for the opening hour of Tuesday's second leg at Anfield.

However, Lautaro Martinez's first goal in the competition since November 2020 – a superb swerving shot from 20 yards – gave Inter serious hope of at least forcing extra time.

Alexis Sanchez's red card 107 seconds later proved damaging, though, as Inter failed to create any further clear-cut opportunities against their Premier League opponents.

The defeat is Liverpool's first at Anfield in all competitions since March 7 last year, a run spanning some 28 matches, and marks just the third time they have lost this season.

But with his side having ultimately done enough to advance 2-1 winners on aggregate, Salah is hoping to use the rare setback to Liverpool's advantage.

"They are a tough team," Salah told BT Sport. "Even in the away game they were very good. We struggled in the beginning. We had the ball in the second half more. 

"The most important thing is that we qualified.  The most important thing is the team qualifying. We lost a game but it is a good game for us to take it and learn from it. 

"Maybe we got overconfident. It's always important to win, but tonight we hit the post twice, and missed chances. 

"But that can happen and the good thing is, it’s not in the Premier League and we have qualified. 

"Everyone wants to win the Champions League and the Premier League, so we will fight for both, and let’s see.”

Salah twice hit the frame of the goal, while Joel Matip also sent a header against the crossbar, on what proved to be a frustrating occasion for Jurgen Klopp's side.

He had previously scored eight goals in seven Champions League games this term, but failed to net from an expected goals (xG) return of 0.70 in the second leg.

The Egypt international could afford to laugh off his profligacy as attention instantly turned to Saturday's Premier League contest with Brighton and Hove Albion.

Salah added: "I hit the post twice. It’s OK – maybe I score three next time!"

In the build-up to Liverpool's clash with Inter at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp went to great lengths to spell out the fact that he and his team were taking nothing for granted.

Leading 2-0 from the first leg in Milan, the Reds were the clear favourites for progression in the Champions League last 16.

But, at his pre-match press conference, their manager warned: "The danger everybody knows about. It's 2-0, the lead I think which got turned over most often in the history of football."

And he struck a similar chord in his programme notes, telling supporters: "If anyone has even a tiny percentage of complacency or entitlement, please stay away."

Of course, Klopp would have loved nothing more than for Liverpool to have produced a vintage performance that made his cautious tone seem unnecessary.

Instead, he was proven completely right about the threat posed by Simone Inzaghi's side, who had in truth been rather unfortunate to suffer a two-goal defeat in the first leg.

It is not that Inter came out all guns blazing on Merseyside, of course; this is the Italian champions in European competition we are talking about.

But their ability to play through Liverpool lines was eye-catching from the off, with the impressive Hakan Calhanoglu key to that.

And the calm manner in which the visitors' back three dealt with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane also bred confidence, with Milan Skriniar's game-high nine clearances marking him out.

As such, while Inter's best opportunity of an evenly matched first half saw Calhanoglu test Alisson from a free-kick, they had shown enough to suggest that something special could be in the offing in the second period.

You could clearly see those hopes growing close to the hour mark as Lautaro Martinez struck just wide after a beautiful back-to-front move had played him in on goal.

And so it was no surprise the Argentine made no mistake in firing home a beauty from the edge of the box moments later to bring the tie to life and put the fear into Liverpool.

It was at this point, however, that events brought to mind the popular expression which states it is better to be lucky than good when it comes to sport.

Yes, you could argue that Alexis Sanchez was fortunate to still be on the pitch having clearly caught Thiago Alcantara with a studs-up challenge in the opening 45 minutes.

But he probably did not deserve to see a second yellow for a light nick on Fabinho after winning the ball, under two minutes having passed since the Chile forward had set up Martinez's strike.

Coming so shortly after the opening goal, that blow sucked all momentum out of Inzaghi's men, effectively handing Liverpool passage into the quarter-finals on a platter, with Inter not registering another attempt on goal from that point on.

Still, even if the circumstances were somewhat fortuitous, it is hardly likely to have taken the shine off the result for Klopp, whose team have now reached the Champions League last eight in four of the last five seasons.

He would no doubt have preferred to have witnessed a more convincing performance that struck fear into Liverpool's rivals for European glory this season.

But perhaps what he got was in some ways better: another reminder that this team can see off even elite teams when not at their best. 

As this manager and players are all too aware, you need a combination of quality, mentality and luck to go all in the way in the Champions League, and Liverpool called on all three at various stages of what was a fascinating tie.

Liverpool advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 2-1 aggregate victory over 10-man Inter, despite losing 1-0 in Tuesday's second leg at Anfield.

Late goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in last month's first leg ensured the Reds were in control of the tie heading into the return fixture.

The hosts hit the frame of the goal through Joel Matip and Salah and looked under no threat until the point Lautaro Martinez fired in a stunning goal for Inter with an hour played.  

Alexis Sanchez was sent off 107 seconds later for a second yellow card, however, and it was Liverpool who went closest to scoring the next goal when Salah struck the post.

Thiago Alcantara and Matip returned to Liverpool's line-up and the latter picked out the crossbar from the best of Liverpool's limited first-half openings.

Milan Skriniar superbly blocked Virgil van Dijk's goal-bound header moments later, while Hakan Calhanoglu tested Alisson at the other end from a low free-kick.

Liverpool slowly started to turn the screw and should have been out of sight in the tie, only for Salah to fire against the upright after Diogo Jota was denied by Samir Handanovic.

Those wasted chances came back to haunt Jurgen Klopp's side when Martinez unleashed a swerving 20-yard shot into the top-right corner.

Sanchez, who received a yellow for a challenge on Thiago late in the first half, was sent off for following through on the same opponent almost immediately after Martinez's goal.

Liverpool were further frustrated as Salah's cushioned volley came back off the upright, but the hosts protected their one-goal aggregate lead to reach the last eight.

Robert Lewandowski scored a record-breaking hat-trick as Bayern Munich thrashed Salzburg 7-1 to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday. 

After struggling in their 1-1 draw in the first leg three weeks ago, Lewandowski hit the ground running and had a treble by the 23rd minute. That made it the earliest hat-trick in Champions League history. 

It crushed Salzburg after a bright start and Serge Gnabry was on target as Bayern registered four first-half goals in a Champions League knockout game for the fourth time – as many as all other clubs combined. 

Substitute Maurits Kjaergaard pulled one back for Salzburg between a double from Thomas Muller, with Leroy Sane having the final say in a one-sided encounter.

Lewandowski buried a penalty after his excellent turn drew a foul from Maximilian Wober, who then saw a free-kick he gave away following a tackle on the Pole upgraded to a spot-kick following a VAR review. It resulted in another cool finish into the bottom-left corner from the striker. 

The hat-trick was completed when Lewandowski blocked Salzburg goalkeeper Philipp Kohn's clearance and bundled the ball home with his thigh after it came back off the post. 

The onslaught continued as Mohamed Camara was caught in possession on the edge of Salzburg's box by Kingsley Coman and Gnabry drilled home from the Frenchman's pass. 

Muller rifled a fine finish into the bottom-right corner as Bayern continued to dominate after the restart, but Kjaergaard pulled one back for Salzburg nine minutes after replacing Chukwubuike Adamu. 

Sane set up Muller for his second of the game in the 83rd minute and was on target himself two minutes later, steering Lewandowski's flick home at the near post to complete a resounding victory.

What does it mean? Lewandowski back on song in Europe 

After failing to register a single effort on goal in Bayern's two previous Champions League games – the first time that has happened in his career – Lewandowski hit the ground running at the Allianz Arena. 

He took little time to score his fifth hat-trick in the competition, a tally that is only bettered by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (both eight). 

Neuer returns 

Manuel Neuer made his 104th Champions League appearance for Bayern – surpassing Oliver Kahn as the Bayern goalkeeper with the most appearances in the competition. He was unable to mark the occasion with a clean sheet, though. 

Woeful Wober 

Salzburg were always going to be up against it in Munich, but Wober's clumsy challenges all but ended their hopes of progressing before the midway point of the first half had been reached. 

What's next? 

Bayern have a tricky trip to top-four chasing Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while Salzburg are up against Sturm Graz on Sunday. 

Robert Lewandowski made Champions League history with his first-half hat-trick in Bayern Munich's last-16 second leg against Salzburg on Tuesday. 

Poland international Lewandowski scored three goals in the opening 23 minutes. It was the earliest in a Champions League game that a player has registered a hat-trick, surpassing Marco Simone's 24-minute treble for Milan against Rosenborg in 1996. 

The 33-year-old put the Bavarian giants in front from the penalty spot in the 12th minute after drawing a foul from Maximilian Wober. 

He sent a second spot-kick into the bottom-left corner in the 21st minute after another foul from Wober was upgraded from a free-kick to a penalty following a VAR review. 

Lewandowski completed his hat-trick when he bundled home with his thigh after his block of goalkeeper Philipp Kohn's clearance came back off the post. 

It was Lewandowski's fifth treble in the competition – only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (both eight) have managed more. 

Luka Modric hopes Kylian Mbappe will join him at Real Madrid next season, as speculation continues over the forward's future.

Mbappe's contract expires at the end of June and the Paris Saint-Germain forward continues to be strongly linked with a move to Madrid.

The prolific 23-year-old has been included in PSG's squad to face Los Blancos in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie on Wednesday and looks set to play despite suffering a knock in training on Monday.

Mbappe was the difference in the first leg, scoring a stunning late winner to give PSG a 1-0 advantage in the tie after Lionel Messi had seen a penalty saved by Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Modric is also coming towards the end of his contract but has spoken of his desire to extend his stay with LaLiga leaders Madrid, and the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner says any player in the world would want Mbappe as a team-mate.

"We want to play with great players, Kylian is one of those. Of course, I'd like to play with him, let's see," the midfielder told reporters.

"It's difficult to talk about other players, clubs get angry, can interpret it badly, but I don't think a player exists that doesn't want him on their team."

Mbappe has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 13 appearances in the Champions League, scoring 13 goals and assisting a further five.

His winning strike in the first leg was his latest goal in the competition to date, coming after 93 minutes and 14 seconds.

A big part of PSG's resolve to keep Mbappe despite bids from Madrid last year was their desire to win the Champions League.

However, PSG have been eliminated from three of their eight Champions League knockout ties when winning the first leg – only Barcelona (four) and Madrid (six) have been knocked out in this fashion more often.

Neymar is relishing the chance to create more happy memories at the Santiago Bernabeu after declaring himself fully fit for Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League last-16 second leg with Real Madrid.

The Brazil international spent four seasons with Madrid's bitter rivals Barcelona prior to joining PSG in 2017, winning eight trophies – including the European Cup in 2014-15 – during his time in Spain.

He has found the net three times in 11 appearances against Los Blancos with PSG and Barca, two of those goals coming at the Bernabeu, including in a 4-0 LaLiga victory for the Catalans in November 2015.

Neymar had been considered a major doubt for the first leg with Madrid three weeks ago, but he made his return from a near-three-month injury lay-off to play the final 17 minutes of his side's 1-0 victory in Paris.

Having started PSG's three league matches since then, the 30-year-old is ready to make an impact in Wednesday's return fixture in the Spanish capital.

"I feel 100 per cent fit," he said at a pre-match news conference on Tuesday. "My injury lay-off was longer than expected, and it was a very tough injury to recover from.

"But I'm 100 per cent mentally and physically ready to help the team, help my team-mates and play a great game. It's a match where you have to all be ready.

"I had targeted this fixture for my return. It's a game that the players want to play, you have to enjoy every minute of these games. These are minutes that will not be repeated. 

"I focused and I worked to help the team. I'm going to give everything and do everything tomorrow. You have to have a very strong mentality to play a great game.

"I have a lot of good memories at this ground. I have scored goals and made assists here. Playing here is always special and not just for me."

Neymar is not the only former Barca player set to feature at the Bernabeu, with fellow forward Lionel Messi also expected to start against a team he inflicted a number of painful defeats on across 17 years in the Blaugrana's first team.

"It's a special match for me and Lionel because we played at Barca," Neymar said. "We are motivated. We want to play well tomorrow and to make some history for PSG.

"I feel good to help PSG. We're ready to play on Wednesday. This is a very strong team in front of us, with players with a lot of quality. But we're not going to give up or hide. We're going to give everything to try to win the game.

"I'm happy to play and I'm sure my team-mates have the ambition to play on Wednesday and go home with a victory."

Kylian Mbappe's late strike at the Parc des Princes leaves PSG as slight favourites heading into the second leg, but the visitors have been eliminated from three of their eight Champions League knockout ties when winning the first leg.

Only Barcelona (four) and Madrid (six) have a worse such record, while PSG have won just one of their previous five away games against Los Blancos in European competition.

But with this year's final being switched from Saint Petersburg to the Stade de France in Paris, Neymar is extra motivated to ensure that PSG get the job done.

"The final being in Paris is incredible for us," said Neymar, who has provided more assists (27) than any player in UEFA's primary club competition than any other player since his debut in September 2013.

"It makes us want to reach the final even more, more than ever. But we have to start on Wednesday. We've been working for a long time and Wednesday is a step towards our goal.

"It's a match between PSG and Real, which is always 50-50. There are no favourites as they are two strong teams. We have an advantage after winning 1-0 in the first leg, but we have to think about winning and playing even better.

"We have to attack and defend together. These are things that can help us win the Champions League if we play together. If we play together, we have the possibility of winning the match, but not only that."