Will he deliver? Chasing the holy grail of Champions League glory, Barcelona will need its talisman Lionel Messi to step up and deliver in the knockout stages. | Photo Credit: Ranvijay
Hobbled by injuries, a stuttering Bayern faces Liverpool
Barcelona has been haunted by its recent failures in the Champions League and there are concerning signs for the Catalans as they prepare for Tuesday’s last-16 first leg away to Olympique Lyonnais.
Ernesto Valverde’s side flies to France after an uninspiring 1-0 win at home to struggling Real Valladolid on Saturday which left plenty of doubts about their capabilities of winning Europe’s top prize.
Valverde has played down the significance of his side’s recent slack displays.
Barca has fallen at the quarterfinal stage each year since last winning it in 2015.
It has looked on enviously as Real Madrid won the last three editions of the big eared trophy, swelling its total number of European Cups to 13, which makes Barca’s five look measly by comparison.
Despite winning three of the last four La Liga titles and collecting the Copa del Rey four years in a row, there is a widespread feeling that Barca should have fared better on the continent, especially while Messi has been at his peak.
The Argentine seems to think so too — in his first speech as captain back in August, he pledged to do “everything possible to bring that beautiful trophy back to the Nou Camp”. For that ambition to be realised, Barca must improve on a dismal away record which has seen it win only one of its last six visits in the knockout rounds, scoring three goals while conceding 13.
No comments:
Post a Comment