Media review: Barcelona-Paris
The European media are working themselves up for Tuesday's UEFA Champions League tie between the two continental heavyweights.
Le Parisien's headline on Tuesday reads 'La Guerre des Etoiles' (Star Wars) with pictures Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi.
Revue de presse à Barcelone. Les quatre principaux quotidiens sportifs d'Espagne titrent sur le choc Barça-PSG. Un point commun : tous se concentrent sur le duel Messi-Mbappé. «Celui qui s'approche», lance Marca, référence à une série populaire de la fin des années 2000 #FCBPSG pic.twitter.com/8yHkfoBTcH
— Le Parisien - PSG (@le_Parisien_PSG) February 16, 2021
The paper had published an interview with Rafinha on Monday in which he talked about the European season so far: "The Champions League campaign has been very important for us. It's united us more as a group, as teammates. When more or less no one believed in us, didn't think we'd qualify, we had a big talk among ourselves. That brought us closer together and you could see that in the win against Leipzig and Manchester. It was a step forward as a team, also when I think about the events against Basaksehir."
In Italy, la Gazzetta dello Sport is looking forward to the game: 'Back with a huge game: Barcelona-Paris Saint-Germain' They bill the match as "the most inviting despite the absence of several talents on both sides."
In Spain, Mundo Deportivo's front page reads 'Messi-Mbappé, the big duel ', stating Lionel Messi will be as crucial to the Catalan's cause as Kylian Mbappé will be to the Parisians. The forwards have scored 19 and 18 goals respectively in their last 28 matches, and meet again a little less than three years since their Last 16 encounter in the World Cup.
In Brazil, UOL highlight Barca coach Ronald Koeman's comments about Neymar Jr's injury-enforced absence, and what difference that will make. "I think players like Neymar, Messi and Ronaldo must always be protected, because they're exceptional players. Referees have to defend them," he said. "It's important to have everyone available for every team. Neymar and Di Maria are irreplaceable, just like Ansu Fati, Coutinho, Araujo or Sergi Roberto. We have do our best with injuries and put out the best team possible."
In the USA, CBS Sports are convinced Paris Saint-Germain are still well armed to cope with the Catalans even without Neymar and Angel Di Maria. "It's better to have the choice of whether to play Neymar or not, but even without him, Paris are able to shine without one of the best players in the world," wrote Jonathan Johnson.