Marco Verratti explains why PSG were a little restrained against Barcelona tonight, having also seen Juventus fall to Porto in the Champions League.
The game ended 1-1 in Paris this evening, with Keylor Navas making a series of incredible saves, including on a Lionel Messi penalty.
It allowed them to qualify 5-2 on aggregate for the Champions League quarter-finals.
Marco Verratti explains why PSG were a little restrained against Barcelona tonight, having also seen Juventus fall to Porto in the Champions League.
The game ended 1-1 in Paris this evening, with Keylor Navas making a series of incredible saves, including on a Lionel Messi penalty.
It allowed them to qualify 5-2 on aggregate for the Champions League quarter-finals.
“I feel important here, to my teammates, the coach and the club. I know my teammates have faith in me and that allows me to give more,” Italy international Verratti told Sky Sport Italia.
“I think it’d been 26 years since we were able to eliminate Barcelona. We knew their strength, but we showed what we could do both at Camp Nou and here this evening. We’re very happy.
“We were talking today, when you win the first leg 4-1, the second leg is always a little strange. You want to defend well, but Barcelona are so good in possession and are the perfect side for that. They tire you out so there’s nothing left when you do get on the ball and we were unable to counter the way we wanted to.
“We were also missing some important players like Neymar and Angel Di Maria, so their 3-4-3 formation made it difficult for us.”
Verratti, Alessandro Florenzi and Moise Kean at least bring some Italian representation to the quarter-finals after Juve were knocked out by Porto.
“I watched the Juventus game, it’s disappointing, as I have many friends there. It was a bit of a crazy game, but at this level any tiny error can transform a tie. That’s what makes the Champions League so exciting.”