Dignity in the face of the impossible – AS.com

When the first leg of the round of 16 against him PSG with the result of 1-4 favorable to the French after the exhibition of Mbappe, the spirit of the Barcelona fans for the second leg was to try to avoid tonight in the Princes Park (9:00 p.m. Movistar Champions League) a new departure from Europe traumatic. But the comeback against him Seville in the semifinals of Cup, the improvement in The league and the arrival of Joan Laporta, who will sit in the French stadium box, have fanned a flame of hope that goes against all logic (follow the game live on As.com).

But this is soccer and soccer is illusion. The task is titanic and even more complicated than the one achieved four years ago when the Blaugrana team beat PSG in a night of madness that allowed them to overcome the 4-0 that they conceded in Paris, beating the French 6-1. Since then, many things have changed in both teams, the fundamental is Neymar, who changed sides but, although he has tried to the end, the Brazilian will not arrive in time to face his former team. It must be remembered that he was not in the first leg and Mbappé made the absence of his line mate go unnoticed.

Clinging to the idea of ​​leaving Europe with your head held high, unlike what has happened in the last four seasons, Barcelona travels to Paris at least ready to win the game, avoid scoring three consecutive defeats in the Champions League for the first time in their history, and retaliate for the painful defeat they received at their stadium. That night, Barça disconnected in an unexpected way from the game after PSG's 1-1. A few weeks later, he regrets that because he is convinced that the difference between the two teams is not 1-4. But you can no longer turn back.

Therefore, and as the same De Jong admitted yesterday, the first two ideas are to compete in the match and win it. Then, if circumstances favor the miracle, then it will be seen to accelerate to try to scare the Parisian team. The plan is to start looking for dignity and end in a miracle that would double the bet of that 6-1 at Camp Nou. That is why Koeman will not throw the game and will not reserve anyone prioritizing LaLiga. Barça does not play until Monday against Huesca and nobody wants to miss this match, which could be Messi's last in the Champions League wearing the Barça shirt. However, today in the Blaugrana environment they also believe in this 'comeback', which would be based on the Argentine continuing at Barça. At the moment, there are times of optimism at the Camp Nou. In the sporting aspect, in case the test lacks some complication, Koeman travels to Paris without his two most reliable centrals such as Piqué and Araújo. The latter, despite having done part of the session with the group, is not yet ready. On the French side, Pochettino will base his work on convincing his people that the job is not done. Neymar's loss is joined by Kean, author of one of the goals in the first leg; and Juan Bernat. In betting, it is taken for granted that Paris is the last station on Barça's European trip this season, but with this team, sometimes incredible things happen. Many times for the bad, but also, see Sevilla in the Cup or PSG itself, for the good.