PSG will be looking to book themselves a spot in the quarterfinals of Europe’s elite competition when they host five-time winners Barcelona in their round of 16 second-leg match in the middle of the week.
PSG will fight to the death against Barcelona
Mauricio Pochettino said that Paris Saint-Germain “will fight to the death” to win the Champions League. PSG will be looking to book themselves a spot in the quarterfinals of Europe’s elite competition when they host five-time winners Barcelona in their round of 16 second-leg match in the middle of the week. The French champions reached the showpiece last season to suffer a narrow defeat to Bayern Munich. So Pochettino is determined to help the team move one step further in May. Pochettino said during a pre-match interview: “It is clear that the club’s aspiration is a win. Many other teams want to win it, and it is not so easy. We are aware of our responsibility and will fight to the death to achieve it”. PSG played a tricky draw in the 2020-21 Champions League group stage with Manchester United, RB Leipzig and Istanbul’s Basaksehir.
The French champions only scored three points from their first three fixtures. Thet lost at home to Man United and away to Leipzig on either side of a 2-0 win against Basaksehir. But recovered to finish top of Group H. PSG beat Leipzig at home 1-0 before earning an impressive 3-1 win over the Red Devils at Old Trafford and thrashing Basksehir 5-1, with a heavyweight knockout stage encounter against Barca. Pochettino’s side then hammered home their European aspirations by dismantling the Blaugrana 4-1 at the Camp Nou in the first leg of their last 16 tie and are expected to finish work at Pac des Princes on Wednesday night. Carlo Ancelotti, Laurent Blanc and Unai Emery all failed to take PSG beyond the Champions League quarterfinals. But Thomas Tuchel managed to beat that trend in 2019-20.