agence france presse
Barcelona, April 20: Barcelona defender Dani Alves has warned his side against complacency when they host a Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) side bolstered by the return of key personnel through suspension to the Camp Nou here Tuesday.
Two goals from Luis Suarez took Barca to the brink of a seventh Champions League semifinal in eight seasons as they romped to a 3-1 win in the first leg of the quarterfinal tie in Paris last week.
However, a late own goal from Jeremy Mathieu offered the French champions a glimmer of hope as they welcome back top-scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic and midfield maestro Marco Verratti.
“We will not speculate with the result because we don’t know how to,” Alves, who has been linked with a move to PSG come the end of the season, told Barca’s website.
“The philosophy and the spirit of the team is to challenge for every ball as if it was the last. We cannot think about our advantage, but just control the game and look to score from the first minute. That is the only way to overcome PSG.”
It will not just be the top PSG players who will be returning to action. Alves will also be back in the Barca squad after he too missed the first leg through suspension, whilst Andres Iniesta is expected to overcome the back bruising he suffered at the Parc des Princes in time to feature.
David Luiz who was nutmegged twice by Suarez in the build-up to the Uruguayan’s goals however, insisted that he is not feeling the after-effects of a hamstring problem that was originally expected to keep him out of both legs of the tie.
“I do not feel any pain, I just feel tired,” said the Brazilian. “In Barcelona we will do all we can. Of course we must still believe in our abilities.”
However, teammate Blaise Matuidi admitted they will have to defend an awful lot better against Barca’s star front three of Lionel Messi, Suarez and Neymar to stand any chance.
“We must above all go without any complex and try everything to achieve what would be an amazing feat. We will be keen to show something different from the first leg and primarily defend well because that’s what we missed at the Parc des Princes.”
The problem for PSG is that their star defender who had to be benched 17 minutes into the first leg, Thiago Silva, will miss Tuesday’s game also. The Brazilian had suffered a hamstring injury and is yet to recover from it.
“We tried our best to get him back,” said Matuidi. “But he has not recovered. Missing him in such a crucial game is not the right situation. But then injuries are a part of every player’s life.”
