The draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League took place on Friday. After taking out Real Sociedad in the round of 16, the Parisians will face FC Barcelona, the former club of their coach Luis Enrique. A meeting with a taste of revenge.
Published on: 03/15/2024 – 3:49 p.m.
3 mn
The draw spoke on Friday March 15: for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the Parisians will face Barcelona, the former club of their coach Luis Enrique and their tormentor during the famous “comeback” in 2017.
After being varnished by the draw for the round of 16 with Real Sociedad, PSG could fear the worst and a shock against a big name, as the list of seven other qualified teams was dense (Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Arsenal , FC Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Atlético Madrid).
It will therefore be the old Catalan enemy that PSG will face, with a return match in Barcelona. This is the sixth time in 12 years that the two teams have met, five of which have been in the knockout phase. With this double face-to-face, Barça also becomes PSG’s most recurring opponent on the continental scene, in all competitions combined.
The most notable confrontation between the two teams obviously leaves very bad memories for the Parisians. Seven years after the slap received at the Camp Nou in the round of 16 second leg (4-0, 6-1), the Parisians will indeed meet the Catalans for a duel which will also be very special for Luis Enrique, ex-Barça coach, who was on the opposite bench in 2017.
Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé will also meet his former club (2017-2023), which he left this summer for Paris.
“Paris Saint-Germain is a great team with a great coach who we know well, and who is a friend. They have a world-class squad, and quite young, it will be a tough match,” reacted Rafael Yuste, vice -president of FC Barcelona, speaking to Canal Plus.
“Luis Enrique, he is a friend, a beautiful person and above all a great coach, he knows Barça well, he won five titles with us,” he underlined, while the club, third in Liga at eight points from Real Madrid, is having a complicated season and had difficulty getting rid of Naples in the previous round (1-1, 3-1).
Mark the spirits again for Mbappé
But during the last opposition, the leaders of Ligue 1 had already taken their revenge. Because it was PSG who eliminated Barça in 2021 in the round of 16 with a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappé at the Camp Nou, empty because of Covid-19 (4-1, 1-1).
After announcing to the management of PSG his decision to leave at the end of his contract on June 30, the French star will undoubtedly be keen to once again make an impression in Spain against the enemies of his very likely future club, Real Madrid. , which he could find in the final if the two clubs reach there.
In the event of a victory against Xavi’s players – who are leaving at the end of the season – the table is rather open for the semi-finals for Marquinhos’ teammates. They will face the winner of the Atletico Madrid – Borussia Dortmund confrontation. With a return to the Parc des Princes.
Even if the Parisian leaders affirm that the current exercise is that of reconstruction and that the “Big Ears Cup” is not one of the priority objectives after the departures of major elements (Lionel Messi, Neymar), a completely overhauled workforce and the arrival of a new coach, the Parisians still remain in the race for a C1/Ligue 1/Coupe de France treble.
With AFP
