Barcelona in search of

DAUNTING TASK

Things have changed since Barcelona’s historic comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the last round of the Champions League.

When Barcelona routed PSG 6-1 to reverse a 4-0 first-leg deficit in the last 16, their confidence was high from winning four games in a row and outscoring opponents 15-3 before that second leg.

This time, they have to overcome a 3-0 first-leg loss against Juventus in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. But without the boost of a winning streak. Barcelona have lost three of their seven games since that spectacular victory over PSG at the Camp Nou.

From leading the Spanish league by one point before beating PSG, Barcelona have dropped to second, three points behind, and haven’t been playing well. They also lost at Malaga 2-0 before the defeat to Juventus in Turin, and had to claw their way past

Real Sociedad 3-2 at the weekend.

“There’s only one option: Attack, attack, attack,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. “This is similar to the PSG match but in theory we need to score fewer goals. Juve will have their chances, too, so our objective is to score five times.”

He said fans shouldn’t leave in the 80th minute because they could miss another historic comeback. Barcelona scored three goals after the 87th minute in the win over PSG.

“We are the same team and we can repeat that,” said Neymar, who led Barcelona with two goals and two assists in the victory over PSG. “We have to give everything we have. We believe that we can come back again.” A contribution from Lionel Messi would be helpful, too. He has scored a pair in three of his last five games. He netted twice each against Valencia, Sevilla, and Sociedad, but failed to score in the losses to Malaga and Juventus.

Juventus have adopted a cautious approach. “These guys are like sharks,” Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini said of Messi and Co. “If you show a sign of nerves, they smell the blood and finish you off.”