ToranagaSama
Active member
I mean, Real and Man City have massively declined. So has Bayern. So who would you expect next in line to make the CL semis once these teams are off the table? PSG, one defensively disciplined team from Italy, Liverpool and Barca wouldn't be the worst bet. Which is almost what happened, except for Arsenal instead of Liverpool.
5 years ago with that Vidal, Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Rakitic midfield with legless Suarez und Messi upfront under Betis level coach Setien I would have laughed myself into a coma if someone said Barca will be fighting for a treble within the next 5 years but right now with players like Pedri, Rafinha, Yamal etc. under current circumstances of the football world we are pretty much where we should be under an experienced coach.
We should win domestically against a weak Madrid side and we should pretty much make it past teams like Benfica, Dortmund and Inter. Tiredness doesn't affect only Barca.
PSG in a one-off game can be a coin toss and would be okay to lose against if not get trashed. Winning the league and losing against Inter would be okay if they shithouse their way through again with few set piece chances while we outplay them but the ball doesn't go in. Losing aganst Inter and somehow letting the league slip up would be a desaster. Not just for this season but this team would be just as tainted as the Roma and Liverpool squad. No one would take them seriously from now on.
These next few weeks are way too important. It's either the start of a new dominant Barca generation that instills fear into Europe and Real Madrid or continuation of 2016 - 2024 laughing stock Barca that bottles it all when it matters.
