FC Barcelona Manager Luis Enrique Insists There Are No Favourites In The Champions League Ahead of AS Roma Clash
The Catalan giants have started their
season in fine form, winning each of their opening three La Liga
fixtures, including an impressive win away against Atlético Madrid on
Saturday. Luis Enrique’s men now take on AS Roma in their Champions League Group E opener on Wednesday hoping to continue the run of good form.
AS Roma have also started their season
on a positive note, and manager Rudi García has declared that his side
will play with ‘humility, but also ambition’ to try and get a result
against FC Barcelona at the Stadio Olimpico.
Luis Enrique insists there are no favourites once Champions League kicks off
FC Barcelona have won the competition four times in the past decade, more than any other
team in Europe. The Spanish giants will once again be among the
favourites given the quality in the squad, and will aim to become the
first club to retain their Champions League group since the re-branding
of the competition.
Speaking at his press-conference ahead of the game, Luis Enrique was quoted by the club’s official website
as saying: “The objective of winning the second consecutive Champions
League is not added pressure, it’s a marvelous stimulus for the fans and
the team. We will try but it is not added pressure, quite the opposite.
“If we were favourites for having won
the league, we are also favourites for having won the Champions League.
You have to show it out on the field and here is the difficulty. When
the ball is in motion there are no champions, no favourites, just 32
teams who all want to be champions.”
The former FC Barcelona player also had
words of praise for Lionel Messi, who was controversially left on the
bench for the game against Atlético Madrid, with the Argentine coming on
in the second half and scoring the winner.
“Messi is the best player I have ever coached. Not just the best player in the world for me, the best in history,” said Enrique.
Rudi García aiming for positive result against FC Barcelona
AS Roma have made a good start to their
Serie A season, already claiming a major scalp in the form of Italian
champions and Champions League finalists Juventus, and will be hoping to continue their good form when they take on FC Barcelona on Wednesday.
Speaking ahead of the game, the French manager said (via official club website):
“We know Barcelona are a top side and the reigning European champions.
They’ve won their first three league matches and there’s no need to
repeat all the praise they’ve been given. We know all about them. If
they’re not the best in the world, they’re certainly up there.
“We’ll play with humility tomorrow but
also ambition. We want to qualify for the next round and to do so we’ll
need to perform as well as we can in all six games in order to pick up
points.”
García also spoke about the potential impact of Chelsea FC
loanee Mohamed Salah, with the former Lille manager expressing his
delight to have a player with the pace and technical ability of the
Egypt international.
“Salah is a great player,” García said.
“He’s not been with us for very long but he’s learning the team’s style
all the time, just as his team-mates are getting to know how he plays.
He’s quick and technical. They’re important attributes to make the
difference in modern football.”
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