Barcelona are in form. They’re back in the hunt for La Liga, now just two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid, and they’re into the final of the Copa del Rey courtesy of their remontada victory over Sevilla. Next up is Paris Saint-Germain, who they face in the second leg of the last 16 of the Champions League having lost the first leg 4-1 at Camp Nou.
The task in daunting, but Barcelona have previous when it comes to fighting against the odds to comeback and beat PSG in the Champions League as noted by Diario AS. The French outfit beat Brest yesterday to qualify for the quarter-final of the French Cup, and immediately after fielded questions about Barcelona.
The normal course of action in these situations is for players to be the picture of moderation, making the response of Abdou Diallo all the more striking. “We’re fed up with talk of the comeback! It was in the past, there are new players, it’s a totally different time,” he said. “There’s no stress. We’ll play the game to the fullest, respecting the rival and ourselves.”
PSG are second in Ligue 1, two points behind pace-setters Lille and a point clear of third-placed Lyon. Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as coach at the beginning of the year, replacing now-Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel. Neymar is still out of action, so the onus will be on Kylian Mbappe to lead the line for the Parisians and try to repeat the all-star display he put in at Camp Nou in the first leg, where he scored a hat-trick.
