La Remontada. When the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League kicks off, Paris Saint-Germain will have the opportunity to take that awful word and shove it down the throats of every FC Barcelona supporter.
As you likely know by now, the highly suspect Champions League draw took place on Monday, and predictably, PSG drew Barcelona.
Round of 16 draw ✔️
Which tie are you most excited for? 🤩#UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/M6AqMYTygN
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 14, 2020
The tie, which will take place on February 16, and March 10, is a rematch of the 2017 meeting in which PSG won the first leg 4-0 and then lost 6-1 at the Camp Nou, or, La Remontada.
A lot has changed since then. Neymar Jr. now plays for Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona are a shell of themselves. The Catalan club is in financial turmoil, Lionel Messi wants to leave, and they’re nowhere near the top of the table in La Liga.
That said, a lot can still change before these two sides kick off in February. Neymar picked up an ankle injury in the 1-0 loss to Olympique Lyonnais this weekend and while he’s expected back in time for the Barcelona clash, you never know what other injuries might occur for either side.
One thing we know for sure, hopefully, is that the officiating shouldn’t be as bad this time as it was in the 6-1 loss three years ago. A lot will be said about PSG’s failure that night and then again against Manchester United the following year, however, Barcelona have their own demons they’re battling. They’ve crashed out spectacularly in the Champions League in recent years and will be just as motivated as PSG to put in a good performance and pull off the victory.
Neymar should be back by early January. Plenty of time for the tie against Barcelona. #UCL #UCLdraw https://t.co/mVsjfhZfMS
— PSG Talk 💬 (@PSGTalk) December 14, 2020
For me, it all comes down to PSG’s two superstars, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, and whether or not Thomas Tuchel can come up with a tactical plan to get the most out of them while negating Messi and Barcelona.
It will be an interesting chess match to watch and one that I can’t wait for.
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Agree with you: that night, 8 March 2017, La Remontada, is impossible to forget!
But I wouldn’t be so pessimistic with Neymar saying “Next year, we have to play together, for sure!”
Don’t worry, La Remontada was when Barca had: Messi at his prime, Neymar, Suarez, and Iniesta. PSG will crush them this time.
Barcelona will surely