Barca's Xavi Braces for PSG 'Football War' in UCL 2nd Leg

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez is steeling his side for an epic “football war” in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain at the Camp Nou.

The Blaugrana take a slender 3-2 lead into Tuesday’s return fixture after an enthralling first leg in Paris last week. However, Xavi knows his players will need to be at their very best to see off the star-studded French champions and book a semi-final berth.

“It’s going to be a major football war,” the Barca legend stated. “We are not a team that speculates; we will want to take the ball away from PSG and win the game. Hopefully we’ll be at our best. They’re going to demand a lot from us.”

Despite the narrow aggregate advantage, Barcelona will be bursting with confidence after an excellent run of form that has seen them win six games on the spin across all competitions. That sequence has propelled them back into La Liga title contention and on the cusp of the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in half a decade.

It’s an astonishing turnaround from the depths of crisis that engulfed the Catalan giants just two months ago. A 5-3 home loss to Villarreal in late January left Xavi on the brink, with the former midfield maestro publicly declaring his intention to resign at the end of a difficult first full season in the dugout.

However, president Joan Laporta and the Barca hierarchy stuck by their man. Thirteen games without defeat later, that faith has been emphatically rewarded as an increasingly cohesive side has taken shape under Xavi’s attacking philosophies.

Their stunning victory over PSG at the Parc des Princes made a major statement, ending the Parisians’ 27-game unbeaten run with an accomplished performance that combined flair and defensive resilience. It was undoubtedly Barca’s biggest result since being eliminated from this competition by Bayern Munich in 2020.

Now, in front of a frenzied home crowd at the biggest club stadium in Europe, they have the chance to take another major step by reaching the Champions League semis for the first time since 2019. It would cap a remarkable resurgence for Xavi’s new-look side.

“Happy to be where we are, proud to be where we are,” the 43-year-old beamed. “I think it’s a good moment and I’m excited. We feel it already.

“We have to control our emotions, our temperament … It’s a game of heads or tails. We want to be in control with the ball, and we want to show the best side and personality of the team.

“We need our fans to be loud because PSG will make us suffer, there’s no doubt about it, and we have to be a team to beat them. All of us, together.”

Former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique, now in the PSG dugout, has promised his star-studded line-up will throw everything at overturning the first leg deficit, voicing confidence they can progress.

“We are firmly convinced that we will turn the score around,” stated the Spaniard, who delivered a famous treble during his Camp Nou tenure in 2015.

“The first match was hard-fought by both teams but the result did not reflect what we deserved. The 3-2 scoreline means we have to go for the game.”

With PSG’s frightening array of attackers led by the peerless Kylian Mbappe and potentially boosted by a returning Lionel Messi, Barcelona’s rearguard of Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen face a daunting examination. But if they can withstand that siege, the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and the rejuvenated Ousmane Dembele will surely ask serious questions at the other end.

All the ingredients are there for a genuine, era-defining classic under the floodlights in Catalonia. For Xavi’s resurgent Barcelona, advancing would be another seismic step in their ongoing renaissance as they aim to reclaim their status among Europe’s elite. Failure is scarcely countenanced in these parts.

Strap yourselves in for an almighty second leg “football war”. Barcelona versus PSG promises grandstand entertainment and drama of the highest order.