Barca ready to suffer in UCL battle against PSG, Xavi says

BARCELONA ARE ready for a battle against Paris St Germain in the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final, manager Xavi Hernandez said on Monday, adding that his players are willing tosufferinordertoadvance.

Barca beat PSG 3-2 inthefirstleginfrance lastweekbutxavisaid his side will need to be nearly flawless to reach the semi-finals for the first time in five years.

"It's going to be a major football war," Xavi told a press conference on Monday.

"Wearenotateamthatspeculates,wewill want to take the ball away from PSG and win the game. Hopefully we'll be at our best. They're going to demand a lot from us."

The victory in Paris was Barca's first win in the Champions League knockout stage in four years and left them full of confidence as they reachedsixconsecutivevictoriesinallcompetitions. They are unbeaten since losing 5-3 at home to Villarreal in Laliga in January that led to Xavi announcing he was stepping down as manager at the end of what then looked like a difficult season.

Now, 13 competitive games without a loss later, including a commanding performance inthefrenchcapitaltoendpsg's27-gameunbeatenrun,tuesday'schallengeseemstohave presented itself at the perfect time.

"Happy to be where we are, proud to be where we are. I think it's a good moment and I'm excited. We feel it already," Xavi said.

"Wehavetocontrolouremotions,ourtemperament... It's a game of heads or tails. We wanttobeincontrolwiththeball,andwewant to show the best side and personality of the team.

"We need our fans to be loud because PSG will make us suffer, there's no doubt about it, and we have to be a team to beat them. All of us, together."

PSG coach Luis Enrique, who led Barca to the treble in 2015, was confident his French side could overcome what he thought was an unfair loss and continue their quest for a first Championsleaguecrown."wearefirmlyconvincedthatwewillturnthescorearound,"luis Enrique told a press conference on Monday.

"The first match was hard fought by both teams but the result did not reflect what we deserved. The 3-2 scoreline means we have to go for the game."

PSG started the first leg unbeaten in their previous27gamesinallcompetitionsbutwere undone by a Barcelona side looking to return theclubtothesummitofeuropeanfootballafter crashing out in the group stage two years in a row.

PSG were given the weekend off from League1actiontorestforthesecondleg,which is an advantage Luis Enrique thinks will help with applying an aggressive game plan.

"We will press from minute one and they will play their game. When we have the ball we will try to create as many chances as possible," he said. "The days after the game were difficult for us, but the good thing about football is that there is another game against the same opponent and now we have the idea of whatwehavetodo.weareinaverygoodmoment and we are ready."

Meanwhile Borussia Dortmund face Atletico Madrid as they bid to reach the semifinalsofeurope'seliteclubcompetitionforthe fifth time. Dortmund suffered a 2-1 defeat at themetropolitanostadiumonwednesdaybut Terzic gives his team every chance of producing a comeback against Atletico in Tuesday's returnleg."atleticoforcedusintomistakeslast week," Terzic told reporters on Tuesday. "But we have everything in our own hands tomorrow to progress to the next round. We want to do better from the start tomorrow.”