Barca continues title defense at old foe Arsenal
LONDON (Reuters) – Barcelona takes a 32-match unbeaten run to Arsenal for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday as the Catalans continue their bid to become the first team to retain the trophy in 26 years.
No team has won back-to-back titles in the Champions League era, with Arrigo Sacchi’s all-conquering AC Milan side the last to claim consecutive European Cups in 1989 and 1990.
Unbeaten since a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla in October, Luis Enrique’s side looks well-placed to repeat the feat, coming into the match at the Emirates buoyed by a 2-1 win at Las Palmas on Saturday that has kept its closest challengers in La Liga at bay, while arguably boasting Europe’s premier marksman in the 41-goal Luis Suarez.
Arsenal’s copybook was blotted on Saturday as the Gunners ended a 14-match winning streak in the FA Cup with a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to second-tier Hull City. ARSENAL MANAGER Arsene Wenger (left) said yesterday that he admired Barcelona striker Luis Suarez (right) and his ability to bring a team together. The 29-year-old, who joined Barcelona in 2014, has been in imperious form this season with 25 La Liga goals and has another five in the Champions League entering Barca’s last-16 first leg tonight at the Gunners.
Luis Enrique said Barcelona must iron out some defensive issues that were posed by a creative Las Palmas side, which might have snatched a late equalizer.
The coach will be boosted, however, by the return of defender Gerard Pique, who was rested at the weekend, and defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets from suspension.
“At some moment, due to attacking, we suffered more counter-attacks than usual and the last 10 minutes were more down to our rivals’ need to equalize,” Luis Enrique said.
The onus will be on Arsenal to play a good home leg against a foe it has only beaten once in seven Champions League meetings.
To do so, the Gunners will have to shackle Uruguay striker Suarez, who opened the scoring against Las Palmas to take his La Liga tally to 25 and 41 in all competitions, while rediscovering their cutting edge.
“On Tuesday night, we’ll need great solidarity because we’ll need to defend well, and make the maximum of our possession,” Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger told the club’s website.
Arsenal rotated its squad for the clash with Hull, leaving out Mesut Ozil, who was suffering with an illness and restricting former Barca forward Alexis Sanchez to a late cameo.
German playmaker Ozil will return on Tuesday, as will Aaron Ramsey, and Arsenal will need its big guns in form as its only victory against Barcelona came in 2011 when goals from Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin gave it a 2-1 victory in the first leg of a last-16 tie.
That victory ultimately proved futile, however, as Lionel Messi, who had scored four times to knock out Arsenal in the 2010 quarters, struck twice in the second leg to secure a 4-3 aggregate win.
The two sides also met in the 2006 Champions League final, with Barcelona scoring twice late in the second half to win 2-1.
When it comes to Tuesday’s other match, not much has thwarted the predatory instincts of Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller and Robert Lewandowski this season, but even that dynamic duo will have its work cut out to pierce the rock-solid Juventus defense.
Mueller and Lewandowski have scored a remarkable 56 goals between them in all competitions this season, but in the last 16 they will be up against a Juve rearguard which has kept nine successive clean sheets.
It is primed to be a titanic duel between the champions of Italy’s Serie A and Germany’s Bundesliga, with both sides unbeaten since early December with the same record of nine wins and a draw in their last 10 matches.