FC Barcelona warmed up on Saturday evening for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain. Against Deportivo Alaves, Lionel Messi and Co. turned it up to a 5-1 win. Ronald Koeman’s team goes into the duel with last year’s finalist full of self-confidence.
“We are confident that we can hold out against them. Especially in the knowledge that we played against a strong defensive line like Alaves,” the sports newspaper quoted Mark the Dutchman after the final whistle. In addition, Paris is struggling with important failures, not least superstar Neymar with adductor problems is likely to be absent in both clashes.
“The duel is at eye level”
“They have injuries, but so do we. The duel is at eye level, we have to play well to assert ourselves,” said Koeman. Nevertheless, Barca go into the games with a lot of self-confidence. Against Alaves, they achieved their seventh win in their last eight games, only in the Copa del Rey against Sevilla FC the Catalans lost in the first leg during the week.
Messi “is in fantastic shape”
As is so often the case, the greatest hopes rest on Messi, who seemed at his best against Alaves and scored two beautiful goals from distance. “He’s in fantastic shape,” said Koeman. “We know that he’s decisive, he’s been so long. He’s happy he’s focused,” enthuses the head coach of the six-time world footballer, who appears to be back to his old strength in the calendar year 2021. The 33-year-old captain “makes everything easier,” says Koeman.
–
