Ronald Koeman heaps praise on Barcelona captain Lionel Messi ahead of Champions League clash with PSG
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has revealed that his side are confident ahead of their Champions League round-of-16 clash with PSG on Tuesday night.
Barcelona endured a poor start to their 2020-21 La Liga campaign. The team took their time to find their feet under new boss Ronald Koeman, with a number of stars struggling for form.
The Dutch manager had to deal with an injury crisis as well, which saw a number of his players ruled out for lengthy periods of time. Ronald Koeman has overseen a massive turnaround in form in recent weeks, however, with Barcelona currently on a run of eight straight wins in all competitions.
Barcelona are currently in third place in the La Liga table, three points behind Real Madrid with a game in hand over their arch-rivals.
The Catalans will head into Tuesday night's crunch game against PSG on the back of a 5-1 thumping of Alaves in La Liga. Francisco Trincao and Lionel Messi scored twice in the game as Barcelona cruised to victory.
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has been in inspired form in recent weeks and Ronald Koeman believes the Argentine will be key to his side making it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
"Messi is very important. He's in fantastic form. We know he's decisive, he has been for a long time. He's very focused. He's happy. He's effective. With him, everything is easier. He is very involved, I see him happy. It's easier for him if his teammates follow him. We need a Messi in his prime to eliminate PSG," Koeman told Marca.
Ronald Koeman is confident of Barcelona's chances of beating PSG in the Champions League
Ronald Koeman reflected on his side's impressive form after their 5-1 victory over Alaves on Saturday. The Dutchman believes Barcelona have what it takes to beat their French opponents despite having a number of players sidelined due to injury.
"The team is doing well. We're confident we'll be able to win the tie knowing that we played against a strong defensive unit. They have injuries, butso do we. The tie is evenly matched. We have to play well to go through. We're in a good run of form, with a good streak of wins. We're confident," said Koeman.
Barcelona will be heavily dependent on the likes of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann who are both in a rich vein of form.