Irene Paredes : 'We want to win against them again'

The lack of a return leg against Prague

"We’re only focusing on our game. Of course we wanted to play the second leg against Sparta, but Covid is a thing and it popped up right at the end. We need to prioritize people’s health. It wasn’t up to us to decide. We wanted to play but there’s no point in talking about it now we’re focusing on the game ahead. We feel ready, we’ve had a small break but we needed to adapt and that’s what we’ve done. Everyone could train in their apartments then in small groups and now all together. We’ve now had a bit of time to get back into the rhythm and everything is good. We always want to win and we’re already prepared. The virus came in a tough period but we adapted. The most important thing is that everyone is back and well."

What you learned from the league victory

"I won’t give you the keys to the game but we’re very well prepared. We played extremely well against them last time but this will be a very different game. We’re in another competition and it’s now a two legged game. But we will use our best weapons and stay ready. 
Even if we've beaten them before it's still a very tough game as shown by those players' stats, defending league and Champions League winners. But we're looking to win everything. Their position in the league push us to do our best and we want to win against them again.

Is the Favourites tag important?

"No, favourites are for the media. We want to win tomorrow then qualify and no one is favourite. We're only focused on the game.
Three games to play against them? We want to win tomorrow's game and then we'll have time to focus on the other matches. Tomorrow is so important and that's the first step."

Is the game too early in the european journey? 

"No. It's the right time, the best teams in Europe are left. If we want to go far we need to beat everyone. It's just a shame that a French team will be knocked out after this game. But we just need to focus on winning everything no matter who the opponent is." 

The Parc des princes, an important factor 

"Playing at the Parc is brilliant. It's special. Of course we really miss and that's hard. But we're going to take advantage of the nice pitch and good conditions that the stadium gives us."