Can Lionel Messi and Company Turn In One of Soccer's Greatest Comebacks?
Published on February 22nd, 2017 1:35 pm ESTBarcelona, which is powered by the once in a lifetime trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, Jr., was widely expected to reach the Champions League final this season.
Entering the Round of 16, Barcelona drew PSG - certainly a tough test for the club, though most expected that Barcelona would push through to the quarter-finals without an issue. After all, PSG, while still a strong club, was considered a notch below after Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved to Manchester United this season.
In the first leg at PSG, disaster struck for Barcelona, as they were thoroughly humiliated after losing 4-0. Not only was PSG able to find the net four times, but they were also able to hold the powerful Barcelona to zero road goals.
Barcelona, which is way behind Real Madrid in La Liga (after accounting for games in hand), now faces the very real possibility of missing out on both the La Liga and Champions League titles this year, which would make their season a crashing disappointment.
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On March 8th, Barcelona will attempt the nearly impossible - defeat PSG by a score of at least 4-0.
Sure, Barcelona will be playing in the friendly confines of their own stadium, though they will be tasked with the nearly impossible goal of drubbing a strong opponent while not allowing any goals themselves. In order to score so many goals, Barcelona will need to take chances, and this will obviously leave them susceptible to the counterattack.
Having said that, if anybody can pull off this monumental task it is Lionel Messi and company, though you have to expect that PSG will just be content leaving all of their players in their half of the field for the entirety of the game. PSG can play the ugliest game possible if they like - they have done their job at home and aren't worried about scoring any style points.
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As of this moment, Barcelona is currently trading at 50/1 to win Champions League this season. This puts them behind the likes of Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund and slightly ahead of clubs such as Napoli and Benfica.
Can Barcelona pull off the miracle and move on to the next round of Champions League? The rewards for bettors are very high if they can do so.
