Paris Saint-Germain coach, Laurent Blanc, has issued a veiled threat to knock out favourites, Barcelona, tonight, inspite of the 1-3 first leg defici, perhaps buoyed by the return of midfield dynamo Verratti, and inspirational captain, Ibrahimovic.
“… we have to show that we play good football, can keep the ball for longer, can play against Barça, score many goals and not concede”, added the 49-year-old.
Inspite of the negative 1-3 result from the first leg, PSG coach Laurent Blanc is approaching the second leg of the quarter-final against Barcelona in a confident mood, hoping for an improvement from his team who he says have “nothing to lose” at the Camp Nou.
The French coach, who will be unable to call on injured due Thiago Motta and Thiago Silva, has described the club’s fixture congestion at the end of the season as “crazy” and believes it affects the “show” that both teams will be able to put on during the crucial Champions League tie.
“The seasons are long and the schedule is crazy. What I find deplorable is that the fixture list gets more impossible as the season progresses”, explained the French coach in the pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s visit to the Camp Nou.
Blanc did reiterate his “realistic” approach, given that turning the tie around is a “very difficult task”, although he stated: “We’re going to show that we aren’t what we showed in the first leg” with the help of some returning players.
“… we have to show that we play good football, can keep the ball for longer, can play against Barça, score many goals and not concede”, added the 49-year-old.
Blanc acknowledged the considerable challenge that is keeping out Barça’s attacking flair at the Camp Nou and suggested that Valencia gave a good indication of how to approach, while admitting that Luis Enrique had had little time to prepare his troops for the match given the tight schedule.
EDITED FROM: marca.com