Luis Enrique claims Barcelona are the toughest team in the Champions League
Luis Enrique is worried about facing only one team in the next stage of the Champions League and that’s Barcelona itself. “The only team I don't want to face is Barca, and it's a certainty that we won't.”
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have all made it through to the quarter-final stage and are the four teams that are most likely to pose a threat to the Catalans but the Spaniard is not afraid of any of them
The team marched into the quarter-finals after dumping Arsenal out of the competition for the third time in the last few years and the second time in the quarter-finals of the competition. It was once again Barcelona's three kings, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar who did the damage as each of them found the back of the net.
The kind of form the Catalans have shown in last few months puts up a strong case for them being favourites to retain the title. They are now unbeaten in 38 games in all competitions, only 5 games behind Juventus’ record of 43 unbeaten.
Messi, Suarez and Neymar lead the way once again
A significant reason for Barcelona’s success over the last two seasons is how well Messi Neymar and Suarez have gelled together both on and off the pitch. When Luis Suarez was signed in 2014 from Liverpool there were doubts as to whether he would fit in with the other two forwards but under Luis Enrique, the trio have become an unstoppable force.
Together, MSN have now scored over a 100 goals this season making this Barca’s best chance to become the first team in Champions League history to retain the trophy.
Luis Enrique was very pleased with his side’s performance and heaped praised on his attacking stars.”Suarez, Messi and Neymar feed off each other I am pleased they're our forwards. To be able to resolve games we have to have their initial pressure. They help us create pressure, and they get back to defend as well, which every team needs in any competition.”
Arsenal’s poor run in the Champions League continues
It’s more misery for Arsene Wenger and his team as they were knocked out of the last 16 once again. This is the sixth consecutive time that the Gunners have exited the competition at this stage and the second time at the hands of Barcelona.
They did open their account in the tie though, as Mohamed Elneny scored his first goal for the club with a wonderful sidefoot finish but at the end of the day it proved to be meaningless.
However, there is some good news as the Premier League will still have four teams in the Champions League until 2017-18 season as a result of Juventus being knocked out as well. As a result, Italy’s coefficient will not surpass that of England's for the next two seasons.