What’s the story?
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lucas Moura has admitted that the French club are heading into their Champions League game against Barcelona as the “underdogs” while stating that the only way to stop Lionel Messi is to “tie him up.”
“For me, it's impossible to stop him. You have to tie him up. The tactic is to prevent the ball from getting to him. You have to be really organised. No team is unbeatable, but for me, they're favourites of course. They're the best team in the world,” the Brazilian was quoted as saying by the Spanish newspaper AS.
The Ligue 1 giants will host the La Liga champions in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie at Parc des Princes on Tuesday. Unai Emery and his men will be hoping to avoid defeat and keep a clean sheet in the process in order to prevent the Catalan club from getting a much needed away goal.
In case you didn’t know...
PSG finished second in Group A behind Arsenal following their draw against Ludogorets in the final group stage fixture. Barcelona, meanwhile, finished on top of their group, ahead of Manchester City.
The Catalans have faced the French capital club twice in the knockout stages and have progressed on both occasions. The first time was during the 2012-13 season as both the legs ended in a draw, but PSG were eliminated due to the away goals rule.
The last time these two sides faced each other in 2015, Barcelona eliminated PSG after registering a 5-1 aggregate win.
Messi, meanwhile, has not had the greatest success against the Parisians in the past. The Argentine has managed just two goals in his last four appearances against the French giants.
The heart of the matter
Emery replaced Laurent Blanc as PSG’s manager last summer and his side are unbeaten in this season’s Champions League. Out of the six matches played so far, they have won three and drawn three. Barcelona, on the other hand, have won five out of six and their only defeat came at the hands of Manchester City.
Messi has scored 10 goals and amassed two assists in the five matches he has played in the Champions League. Stopping him might not prove to be an easy task for the PSG defenders.
Also read: Former Barcelona director explains why Ibrahimovic and Messi did not get along
Moura has his eyes set on the Argentine maestro, however, Barcelona’s other attackers need stopping too. Luis Suarez and Neymar have been in fine form recently and have enjoyed playing against the French club in the past. The Brazilian netted thrice while Suarez bagged two goals the last two times the sides met each other and they will be looking to continue that form later tonight.
What’s next?
PSG’s defenders will have an uphill task trying to restrict Messi and co. Moura’s comments may be an indication that his side’s only chance of beating Barcelona over two legs is by outscoring them.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Teams all over the world have tried various methods to stop Messi but most of them haven’t worked. The solution might be to prevent him receiving the ball as Moura suggests. While Barcelona have been scintillating in the attacking third, they have struggled with their back four and PSG should look to exploit this rather than solely focus on stopping Messi.
