Grasping at straws you say? Well, maybe...
Can Barcelona pull off yet another sensational comeback? It’s looking unlikely but there are still a few reasons for hope…
1. Camp Nou brings home comforts
Yes, Barcelona have to score three goals against quite possibly the best defence in the whole of Europe, but their Champions League home record at Camp Nou is simply sensational.
In the group stages Celtic were smashed 7-0 in September while Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach were both on the end of 4-0 defeats.
Into the knockout rounds and PSG, well all you know what happened there. But put it this way, every single one of those results would be enough on Wednesday night.
Put another way, Barca have won all four home Champions League games this season, scoring 21 goals and conceding just once.
That’s not all, Barca have won all 15 home Champions League games they have played under Luis Enrique and are unbeaten in the competition at Camp Nou in their last 20 matches, a run that stretches all the way back to September 2013.
2. Look what happened last time
The 6-1 win over PSG needs little introduction, Barca making Champions League history by overturning a 4-0 deficit, scoring six goals, including three in the last seven minutes.
This time around they only need three to take the game in extra-time and have 90 minutes to score them.
It’s not as easy as that though is it? Juventus are a far tougher proposition than Unai Emery’s side and will be only too aware of what happened last time out.
They also possess a certain Paulo Dybala who has already given Barca a demonstration of exactly how good he is.
There is hope, however, as Juventus have conceded three twice this season already: against Napoli in the Coppa Italia earlier this month and at Genoa in November.
Luis Enrique has already admitted his team will have to be "flawless" against Juve and he’s not wrong. But those memories of PSG will also still be fresh for Barcelona
3. Messi is on a charge
Lionel Messi is the top scorer in the Champions League this season with 11 goals and only needs two more to hit 500 for Barcelona after his brace against Real Sociedad on Saturday.
While Dybala stole all the headlines from the first leg the Argentine has since admitted comparisons with the Barca legend are unjust
"I'm not angry that they compare me to Messi," he told TyC Sports.
"But, like Maradona, there was only one. I think there is also a great distance between him and me."
A distance for now maybe, but the fact remains that with Messi in the team just about anything is still possible.
He’s the top La Liga goalscorer with 29 goals, he has 45 in all competitions and goals are exactly what Barca need on Wednesday.
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/2ojznXJ
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