Paris, Sep 9 (IANS) French football champions Paris Saint-Germain central defender Thiago Silva is confident that the club can emerge victorious in the Champions League this season.

The side reached the quarterfinals of the competition in each of the last three seasons, but have embarked on a major recruitment drive this summer, acquiring Angel Di Maria, Layvin Kurzawa, Kevin Trapp and Benjamin Stambouli.

“For us it was important to start well, regardless of the opponent. The only true opponent of PSG is PSG,” Silva was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday.

“But I’ve seen a real improvement in the team, psychologically. We have two strong players for each area of the field, not one poor and the other strong, but players of the highest level. That’s important if we consider that last year against Barcelona we played without six starters,” the footballer said.

PSG have been drawn alongside Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo in Group A this term, and the centre-back is sure that the club can progress as group winners, though he remains wary of facing Manchester City or Manchester United in the latter stages of the competition.