Champions League: PSG coach faces emotional duel

The duel PSG against Barcelona caused emotions in advance. The French sports newspaper “L’Equipe” even wrote about “hatred” about the relationship status of the two major clubs. The organized Parisian fan scene called for the Prince’s Park to be made “more than hostile terrain” for the guests.

How Luis Enrique finds the call with the martial words remains to be seen. The 53-year-old played for FC Barcelona for eight years and was head coach of the “Blaugrana” for three seasons from 2014. “Playing against Barcelona is difficult for me from an emotional point of view, but it is stimulating at the same time,” said Luis Enrique.

Memories of 2017

He created a reason for the great rivalry in 2017. Paris won 4-0 in the first leg of the round of 16 against Barcelona, ​​and promotion seemed to be just a formality. Lionel Messi and Co. struck back in the second leg, scoring the sixth goal deep into stoppage time to secure promotion.

Champions League

Finalphase

In the quarter-finals, Barcelona failed without a hitch at Juventus Turin. PSG achieved revenge for the disgrace back then in 2021. Kylian Mbappe scored three goals in the decisive 4-1 win in the first leg of the round of 16 at the Camp Nou. But the memories of 2017 remained.

PSG “maybe favorite”

Things are likely to get busy again on the pitch in the new edition. Barcelona have been waiting for their sixth title in the highest European club competition since their triumph in 2015. In the league, the defending champions are eight points behind Real Madrid, and in the Copa del Rey they were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Coach Xavi Hernandez will leave his post after the season. He noted that he knew Luis Enrique very well. “It’s time to dream and show that we can compete with one of the best teams in Europe,” said Xavi. PSG are “maybe favorites,” he said. His young team lacks experience in this phase. “But we have a lot of talent and confidence.”

AP/Bernat Armangue Barca coach Xavi Hernandez gives PSG the role of favorites

Mbappe as a challenge

Xavi can be happy at the moment. Barcelona are unbeaten in eleven games and have not conceded a goal in five games in the championship. Now Mbappe is a completely different caliber. For the 25-year-old it will also be an introduction to what awaits him if he moves to Real Madrid.

But first he wants to lead PSG to their long-awaited first triumph in the championship class. “This is the moment for the great players,” Mbappe told the “Telefoot” broadcaster before the game against Barcelona. “I’m ready and as always, I won’t hide.”

Duel at eye level in Madrid

Dortmund wants to lay the foundation stone in Madrid for promotion to the semi-finals for the first time since 2013. An unpleasant task awaits the Germans at Atletico. “They don’t care how they play. The main thing is that they win,” said BVB striker Karim Adeyemi about long-term coach Diego Simeone’s team.

APA/AFP/Tobias Schwarz A solvable task awaits Sabitzer and Dortmund with Atletico

It’s not just the 70,000 spectators in the Estadio Metropolitano that could be an advantage for the Spaniards. Atletico had a weekend without a game because of the Spanish Cup final. In any case, Dortmund doesn’t want to build walls. The fifth place in the German Bundesliga could have been hit harder in the draw. Similar to Borussia, the “Rojiblancos” in fourth place in LaLiga no longer have anything to do with the title race.

Dortmund coach Edin Terzic expects a duel at eye level and encourages his professionals: “We’ll go there, get a good result, and then six days later have a fantastic night in Dortmund.” His counterpart Simeone saw parallels between the two teams . “This year you are experiencing a season that is comparable to ours. It’s going to be hard.”