Laurent Blanc outlined Paris Saint-Germain's gameplan ahead of their trip to Barcelona on Wednesday. "What we'll try to do is defend against them.”
The French giants top Champions League Group F going into the final matchday but could still be pipped to first place by La Blaugrana, and the Coach felt his side were left with no choice but to put all out the stops at Camp Nou.
"Above all, what we'll try to do is defend," he explained at a Press conference yesterday.
"In qualitative terms, Barca play the best football in the world and have a genetic code which makes them always have 60-65 percent of possession.
"The key is to be effective in the remaining 35%.
"In the first half in Paris we did well, but in the second we were cornered into our own net. This is what they usually do.
"We must be aware that we have to play further back than we usually do in France.
"We must focus on countering Leo Messi's area of influence. Although he plays more centrally, he likes to drift to the right.
"Barca sometimes attack with eight players and defend with two or three, and far out from goal.
"We can hurt them if we steal the ball off them. We must be ambitious and aggressive at Camp Nou if we want to have any chance.
"Putting Barca under great difficulty is our challenge.
"If there were two Ballon d'Ors, [Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi] would win them both."
