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With the exception of the 17,550 members who subscribed to Montjuïc, Barcelona fans have gone from leave and distancing to excitement and militancy before the arrival of two summit matches in one week: PSG (this Tuesday, Movistar, 9:00 p.m.) and Real Madrid (Bernabéu, Sunday, 9:00 p.m.). Barça finds itself facing a great opportunity after on January 27 it seemed to have thrown in the towel for the season due to the 3-5 loss to Villarreal and the delayed resignation announced for June 30 by Xavi. “I feel very euphoric and excited,” the coach noted on Monday. “Barcelona fans have recovered their lost hope. The fans deserve European joy,” concluded the Barcelona coach.
Xavi is convinced that “everyone feels more liberated, has more sense of belonging” since he announced that he would leave as soon as he finished a season that started quite badly when an improvement in the game was announced after winning the last League. Although the championship is in the hands of Madrid, the leader with an eight-point advantage, Barcelona has not given up the fight for the title with seven days left after going 13 games without losing: three draws and 10 victories, the last in Cádiz. Barça's luck depends, in any case, on Madrid. The same does not happen with the Champions League. The Blaugrana aspire to complete the success achieved in Paris in Montjuïc: 2-3.
A ticket to the semifinals is at stake, to be played against the winner of the Borussia Dortmund-Atlético match, after Barça qualified for the quarterfinals four years later by eliminating Naples. That victory unlocked and marked the takeoff of Xavi's squad and gave inspiration to president Laporta, who appeared at the last training session to strengthen spirits ahead of the appointment with PSG. The therapy emboldened even a calm footballer like Pedri. “We have to go out and eat the rival,” said the Tenerife native, a candidate to occupy the vacant place in the middle of the field due to the suspensions of Christensen and Sergi Roberto.
The doubt is Pedri or Fermín. The bet seems to be on Tegeste's canary. “I prefer to play 80 minutes at 100% and ask for a change if I can't do it anymore,” said Pedri. “He has to be a very important player,” Xavi later stressed. “We must make it possible for Pedri and Gündogan to have time and space,” he added. “We have a very clear structure, both offensive and defensive, regardless of PSG's plan. “The key, in any case, is to be a team, have personality and give your all in the football war of Montjuïc.” The last time PSG visited Barcelona was in 2021 and won at the Camp Nou 1-4 with three goals from Mbappé, inconsequential in the first leg played in Paris.
“There were moments in the first leg when we were superior,” Luis Enrique replied. “The circumstances are going to be similar: we are going to press from minute one and Barcelona will use the long game and the pass to the last line, taking advantage of the space. “I think Ter Stegen broke a record of 24 long balls to overcome our pressure,” stated the PSG coach in an intervention that invited the debate on Barça DNA to continue. “Xavi is top and the results say so,” he added to avoid further controversy after in Paris the Asturian claimed to be the coach who best represented Barcelona's style.
“The urgency will make for an exciting game. For us, there is no such thing as speculating," concluded the Asturian, confident that his team's football will improve compared to the first leg with the entry of Zaire-Emery, Barcola and, above all, Achraf: "We have to defend together and win our duels." , stated the Asturian. “We have ambition and a goal to reverse the 2-3 draw in Paris.” A score that always went well for Barça and badly for PSG in the European Cup qualifiers.
Although Montjuïc will not be the Camp Nou, Barcelona fans have always wanted PSG since Neymar's goodbye and now they have turned the latest European nightmares into a dream based on the good run of Xavi's team.
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