Messi rested for Barca trip to Hungary; more than just prestige on line for PSG
Barca have won all four Champions League games but may need to beat Ferencvaros and avoid defeat in their final game at home to Juve, who trail them by three points
Lionel Messi will be rested for the second Champions League game in a row in missing Barca’s trip to Hungarian side Ferencvaros but will not sit out any more games ater that, coach Ronald Koeman said on Tuesday.
Barca’s captain had played in every match of the season plus four World Cup qualifiers with Argentina before being rested for last week’s 4-0 win in Dynamo Kyiv and has also been let out of the squad for Wednesday’s game.
With the Catalans already qualified for the knockout stage, Koeman said it was more important that Messi was feeling fresh for Saturday’s trip to Cadiz as Barca hope to rise up the La Liga standings following a poor start.
“I understand that it’s not normal for Messi to rest but in this schedule there were only two moments where Messi could rest, the game in Kyiv and tomorrow’s game,” Koeman told a news conference.
“We have to give opportunities to other players and Saturday’s game is very important. We need to win. There were only two opportunities to rest him but ater tomorrow he won’t rest any more.”
First-choice goalkeeper Marc-andre ter Stegen and record signing Philippe Coutinho were also absent from the squad although Frenkie de Jong, who was let at home last week alongside Messi, was included.
Barca have won all four Champions League games but may need to beat Ferencvaros and avoid defeat in their final game at home to Juventus, who trail them by three points, to clinch top spot in Group G and be seeded for the last-16 draw.
“The most important thing was to qualify and we’ve done that already but when you’re at Barca you need to win every game and play well too,” he added.
Meanwhile, paris saint- ger main will be playing for their Champions League lives against Manchester United on Wednesday, with last season’s runners-up knowing the costs of group-stage elimination could be enormous on and off the field.
Anything less than victory at Old Trafford and the French champions could see their destiny slip out of their hands going into the last game in Group H.
Neymar’s penalty gave the Qatar-owned club victory over rb leipzig last week, but tho ma stu ch el’ s team performed poorly and the coach’s agitation when searching questions are put to him by the press suggest all is not well in Paris.
PSG are top of Ligue 1, although their lead has been trimmed back in recent weeks following more disappointing displays.
“There is no way we can play like that in Manchester, like we did in the second half,” Tuchel warned ater Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Bordeaux.
There will be potentially major consequences if they fail to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, something they have managed in each of the last eight seasons since becoming regulars in the competition again ater the Qatari takeover.
Tuchel is out of contract ater this season and sporting director Leonardo is not believed to be a huge fan of the German, even if he recently dismissed reports he was looking for a replacement. “Honestly the club has never thought about another coach to replace Tuchel. Now is the time to concentrate on our objectives and to stick together,” Leonardo said in a question and answer session with supporters.
Despite that, it is hard to imagine Tuchel surviving in the event of a European disaster, as being dumped out at the first hurdle would be a huge blow to PSG’S prestige.
Over the last decade it has become almost impossible for such ignominy to befall one of Europe’s super clubs, a category into which PSG now fit as the fith-richest in the world according to Deloite’s Football Money League.