A week ago, before appearing on the lawn of the Parc des Princes, Xavi and the Barcelonans moved forward with great humility and trying to get rid of the pressure of favorite status as much as possible. Same music or almost on the
Blaugranas
side , the conquering side in addition while PSG now travels to Barcelona for the quarter-final return of the Champions League, the first leg of which ended in a victory for the Spaniards (2 -3).
Brilliant when he came into play last Wednesday for his return to competition, Pedri presented himself alongside his coach in front of the journalists, gathered at the Catalans training center in the middle of the day this Tuesday. “The team is very enthusiastic and excited at the idea of approaching a match as important as the one that awaits us tomorrow,” warned the midfielder.
“A great match” between “two balanced teams”
“PSG will be courageous and we have the home advantage, but it will be a very difficult match,” agreed Xavi, who took over from him at a press conference. We are excited, in a good way. This is a great opportunity for us as a club. We are playing at home and Montjuïc must be like the big nights at the Camp Nou. »
“I think we are two very balanced teams and it will be a great match for the spectators,” he predicted. Everyone likes to talk about
favorites
, but we're just going to try our best to come out on top. You have to be careful because PSG will be at full strength. They will try to turn things around and it's true that we have this advantage, but we have to go and eat Paris. In Paris we managed to turn things around and we deserve a lot of credit for what we did. »
“The PSG or Luis Enrique teams always attack,” warned Xavi. Even more tomorrow, knowing that they are behind (…) Qualification for the semi-finals would be a resounding success. » His team will have to react well and the former Barça virtuoso knows this better than anyone, and warned: “The emotional aspect is essential in these knockout matches. »
Mbappé, not the only danger in Barcelona’s minds
To best negotiate “the most important match [he] will have the chance to play so far”, Pedri knows the recipe and the pitfalls to avoid. “You have to have the ball and make sure you don’t create chances,” he continued. Not only Kylian, but also Ous (Dembélé) and (Bradley) Barcola. We must try to compensate for the advantages they have in face-to-face meetings. »
“I expect a match very similar to the first leg,” Xavi analyzed. This will be a very important war. They don't speculate and neither do we. »
“Luis and PSG have so many options that you don’t know which variation to use,” continued the Barcelona coach. We have to understand that we have to have a very clear structure. Tomorrow we will repeat the same match, with a few variations. It all depends on the players. The loss of Christensen and Sergi is very sensitive. Their suspensions hurt us. »