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February 16, 2017

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Neymar sees ‘mission impossible’

Source: AFP | February 16, 2017, Thursday | Print Edition

BARCELONA’S Brazil star Neymar says it will be a virtual ‘mission impossible’ for the Spanish giant to progress in the UEFA Champions League after its 0-4 first-leg demolition by Paris Saint-Germain.

No team has ever come back from a 0-4 first-leg deficit to remain in the UCL and Barcelona is under no illusions about the mountain it will have to climb for the second leg of the last 16 clash at home on March 8.

“Now we have to think about the return match and see what we can try to do to reverse this situation,” the Brazilian star told journalists. “But it will be very difficult, practically impossible. However, we can’t give up.”

Barcelona was totally dominated during the game in which Angel Di Maria scored twice alongside goals from Julian Draxler and Edison Cavani in a match coach Luis Enrique dubbed a disaster for the Spaniards.

Neymar poured praise on PSG and said that being hammered was unfamiliar to Barcelona’s galaxy of international stars.

“All credit to PSG,” he said. “This match was atypical, we are not in the habit of finding ourselves in this sort of situation.

“It will be very difficult to prepare for the return match, with a four-goal deficit. I don’t think this has ever happened to me.”

He said that Barcelona had not prepared well for the game but was still surprised by the punishment it had received. “We were not good, we did not do our work as we should have done.”

The joint heaviest defeat in coach Enrique’s three seasons in charge means Barcelona faces missing out on the quarterfinals for the first time since losing on away goals to Liverpool in the last 16 in 2006/07.

“It was a disastrous night for us in which we were clearly inferior,” Enrique acknowledged.

Neymar, Lionel Messi and teammates took part in a closed-door training session at the Nou Camp early yesterday to wind down after the PSG defeat. A glum looking trio of Messi, Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique were pictured on the club website taking part in the session.

Enrique confronted a television reporter working for Catalan station TV3 after the match, while his tactics were criticized by midfielder Sergio Busquets.

Barcelona sports daily Sport’s front cover said “this is not Barca,” whilst Madrid-based AS’s headline ran “total disaster”.

“I accept responsibility, but I would also like the same respect and personal treatment in the interviews when we win,” Enrique said in a fiery interview with TV3.

Enrique’s future at the Nou Camp beyond the current campaign was already in doubt as his contract expires at the end of the season. Barcelona also trails Real Madrid in La Liga.

And Busquets’s reaction in praising Enrique’s counterpart Unai Emery for the tactical set up that caught the Catalans cold was telling. “It wasn’t an attitude problem, but a football one. They pressed more and were better tactically. They had a plan and carried it out as they wanted.”

In the day’s other match, Benfica made Borussia Dortmund pay for missing a host of chances, as the Portuguese side snatched a 1-0 win in Lisbon, thanks to Kostas Mitroglou’s 13th goal in his last 13 games.

Greece international Mitroglou flicked the ball into the net to score in the 48th minute and Benfica then held on against its misfiring opponent to take a slender lead into the second leg in Dortmund on March 8.

Benfica, which has now not conceded a goal at home for 383 minutes, kept another clean sheet thanks largely to goalkeeper Ederson, who made a string of superb saves. Dortmund missed a second-half penalty through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who also squandered several other scoring chances.

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