I have great faith in my players: Barcelona coach Enrique

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique remains confident and in high spirits before their crucial game against French giants Paris Saint-Germain at Camp Nou on Wednesday.

The Blaugrana will make history if they can overturn their 4-0 deficit against PSG in a shocking night at Parc des Princes a couple of weeks ago. Barcelona will need to score at least four goals and shut down PSG to force the game to extra time.

But manager Enrique, who will leave the club at the end of the season, revealed that his side can score six times and has reiterated fearlessness going into the game. Barca will be in high spirits as they have scored 11 goals in their last two league games and will give it all to turn the tie in their favour.

Speaking ahead of the game, Enrique said: “If a team can score four times against us, we can score six times against them. We have seen that before this season. We have nothing to lose.

“My optimism does not mean I have unbreakable faith, but there are all sorts of performances in sports, negatives and positives. We have not been in a situation like this before, but I have faith in the team. You always have to keep your emotions in check.

“I am not interested in becoming part of history. But I am convinced we will get chances. That does not mean it is definitely going to happen, but I think we can get close and boost morale even further, which could affect our opponents.

“I don’t have the feeling that we need the best game since I got here. We obviously have to play well and really effective. But it depends on how the match goes.”

It will be a daunting task for Barcelona to contain PSG attackers in the final third as they made the most of their goals by pressing high in the midfield in the first leg. The Catalans will hope nothing short of a miracle to win the tie as they will have to play the best game of their lives to create history in Champions League as no team has ever managed to overturn a 4-0 deficit in the elite competition in over six decades.

Nagendra Reddy

I am a sports enthusiast. Primarily a football fan these days post the golden era of Indian cricket.