Neymar Out of PSG, Barcelona Clash Again

Neymar Out of  PSG, Barcelona Clash Again

Paris St-Germain have ruled Neymar out of the second leg of their last-16 UEFA Champions League tie against Barcelona tonight.

The Brazil forward missed the first leg against his former side, which PSG won 4-1 with a thigh injury.

“Neymar returned to partial training with the squad last week and will continue to work back to fitness individually,” said a PSG statement on Tuesday.

PSG’s on-loan Everton striker Moise Kean will also be absent as he is self-isolating because of coronavirus.

Neymar helped the French champions reach their first Champions League final last August and has scored 12 in 17 competitive fixtures this season.

Meanwhile, Coach Ronald Koeman has insisted that Barcelona can pull off another incredible comeback against Paris Saint-Germain tonight, especially if Lionel Messi plays at his sensational best.

Koeman believes his team can repeat the ‘remontada’ of 2017, when they overturned a 4-0 defeat by PSG with an astonishing 6-1 victory.

“There is always a chance,” said Koeman in a press conference yesterday. “It depends how we start the game, the energy we put into making life difficult for them and how ruthless we are.

“They were ruthless in the first leg but we always create chances, so if we can be absolutely ruthless, nothing is impossible.”

Despite scoring a penalty in the first game at Camp Nou, Messi was overshadowed by a statement performance from PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, who ripped Barcelona apart with a stunning hat-trick.

But Messi has been in good form with seven goals in his last seven games and Koeman believes his captain can produce something special to turn the tie.

“If Leo can play one of his best matches, everything is possible,” Koeman said. “He is the kind of player than can decide any match, at any time.”

Messi has been in the spotlight this week after Joan Laporta won the club elections to return as president on Sunday.

Laporta oversaw Messi’s breakthrough at Barca during his first term in charge and has expressed optimism about persuading the 33-year-old to stay.

“The new president has a history with Leo and other players in the team which is positive,” said Koeman. “I don’t know if it changes anything for Leo because only he can decide his future. “But of course everyone at Barca wants him to stay with us.

“The president won the elections by quite a distance and for the club it’s good to have a leader, to be able to work to improve the future of this club.”

Laporta also met with Koeman on Monday, amid an uncertain future for Barcelona’s coach given the change of regime.

“I know him, we have met a few times in the past,” said Koeman. “Everything depends on results but things have gone well so far. He said a few words to the players and staff and there was a good feeling.”

Koeman will have yet another problem to solve in central defence against PSG, with Ronald Araujo left out of the squad on Tuesday due to a reccurence of an ankle injury. Gerard Pique is also missing with a knee problem.

WEDNESDAY

PSG v Barcelona

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