With Zlatan Ibrahimvic’s ban reduced by UEFA, Paris Saint Germain will breathe a sigh of relief as the Swede will now be available for the first leg of the quarterfinal against Spanish heavy-weights Barcelona.
arlo Ancelotti’s Paris Saint-Germain has been steadily increasing on the reputation ladder, and the team now boasts a squad that is enviable for many. The club has never won the UEFA Champions League, and one is bound to believe that if it is, somehow, able to topple the mighty Barcelona in the quarter-finals, its way to the trophy might become rather simplified.
The first hurdle will be at home on Tuesday night, and Ancelotti will be looking to make sure that his side advances into the second leg with a highly favourable advantage.
The centre of attention for the French side will be its in-form and mercurial striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic has already scored 31 goals this season, with 2 of them coming in Europe. He also has 5 assists in Europe, which means that his threat is even more magnified.
To make things more interesting, the Swede also has a history with his Tuesday opponents, having served them for the 2009-2010 season, netting 22 goals in all competitions.
He was bought from Internazionale in exchange of Cameroonian striker Samual Eto’o and the loan of midfielder Alexander Hleb. He was greeted by a crowd of 60,000 fans at the Camp Nou, and was handed a five-year contract worth €46 million. It took him just three games to score his first goal for Barcelona, and he added a club record to his name by becoming the only player to have scored in the first four league matches.
However, later in the season, his relations with manager Pep Guardiola deteriorated, forcing him to eventually move out in search of other challenges.
From there he moved on to Milan where his time was a lot more successful, scoring as many as 56 times in his two seasons over there. His several records include the record for being the only player to have scored for as many as six different clubs in the UEFA Champions League.
This gives him a fortune of experience that he will be eager to use against his former team-mates from Spain in the upcoming fixture next week.
Ibra together with other stars including the highly reliable Blaise Matuidi, the rock solid Thiago Silva, the high flying Lucas Moura and the eventful Javier Pastore will be aiming to score an important win against the Spanish leaders on Tuesday.
Barcelona has always relied on its fluid style of attractive football and a short-passing game that can take your breath away. However; in the encounter against PSG, it will have to be particularly careful in keeping the performance of Ibrahimovic below his average, because if the striker hits the right chord, it could very well be curtains for Barcelona’s current Champions League campaign.
The French outfit will be relying on the Swede to deliver the goods, and the Catalans will do their best to keep him under their radar.
The first hurdle will be at home on Tuesday night, and Ancelotti will be looking to make sure that his side advances into the second leg with a highly favourable advantage.
The centre of attention for the French side will be its in-form and mercurial striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic has already scored 31 goals this season, with 2 of them coming in Europe. He also has 5 assists in Europe, which means that his threat is even more magnified.
To make things more interesting, the Swede also has a history with his Tuesday opponents, having served them for the 2009-2010 season, netting 22 goals in all competitions.
He was bought from Internazionale in exchange of Cameroonian striker Samual Eto’o and the loan of midfielder Alexander Hleb. He was greeted by a crowd of 60,000 fans at the Camp Nou, and was handed a five-year contract worth €46 million. It took him just three games to score his first goal for Barcelona, and he added a club record to his name by becoming the only player to have scored in the first four league matches.
However, later in the season, his relations with manager Pep Guardiola deteriorated, forcing him to eventually move out in search of other challenges.
From there he moved on to Milan where his time was a lot more successful, scoring as many as 56 times in his two seasons over there. His several records include the record for being the only player to have scored for as many as six different clubs in the UEFA Champions League.
This gives him a fortune of experience that he will be eager to use against his former team-mates from Spain in the upcoming fixture next week.
Ibra together with other stars including the highly reliable Blaise Matuidi, the rock solid Thiago Silva, the high flying Lucas Moura and the eventful Javier Pastore will be aiming to score an important win against the Spanish leaders on Tuesday.
Barcelona has always relied on its fluid style of attractive football and a short-passing game that can take your breath away. However; in the encounter against PSG, it will have to be particularly careful in keeping the performance of Ibrahimovic below his average, because if the striker hits the right chord, it could very well be curtains for Barcelona’s current Champions League campaign.
The French outfit will be relying on the Swede to deliver the goods, and the Catalans will do their best to keep him under their radar.
