Arguably the most anticipated matchup in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 is the tie between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. It’s the first time that both sides will face each other since the remontada in 2017.
One of the players on the pitch that night at the Camp Nou was Marquinhos, and the 26-year-old recently spoke with France Bleu Paris to discuss that return leg in 2017 and the tie against Barça this time around.
The capital club captain touched on the collapse against Barça, and despite the difficulty of the match, Marquinhos was able to move on.
“It was an experience that we had, challenging to live through but that we digested. Today, we are in another situation, with new players who have arrived. The ‘remontada‘ was a difficult moment, but it’s been so long, and we’ve been through so many other things afterward that it’s part of the past,” Marquinhos said.
“Our two teams have a history; we played so much against each other. We won, they won. It’s always a complicated event to experience, but you have to know how to manage and digest, leave all these things out of the field.”
Next, the French media outlet asked Marquinhos about the upcoming matchup versus the Spanish club.
“It’s a very, very important game. It’s the Champions League, against a great opponent, a match that all players dream of playing. We know that at Camp Nou, it’s complicated against Barça, so you have to have the right personality and the right attitude to bring the victory home,” Marquinhos said.
“Today, it isn’t easy to talk about favorites for this match. I think it depends a lot on the attitude, the strategies to be put in place. A lot can be decided in the context of the match. Barça is Barça: there are great players, they are at home. We, too, have our strengths and our great players. It’s a good game.”
For the first leg, Les Parisiens will need to go on the road to secure a favorable result without Neymar Jr. and Ángel Di María on their squad, at least for the first leg. Nonetheless, there’s still enough talent on the PSG team to compete against Barça.
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