FC Barcelona star Pedri said that his team has to come out and “eat” opponents like Paris … [+] Saint-Germain.
FC Barcelona midfielder Pedri demanded that his team has to go out and “eat the opposition” after it did just that with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Barca delivered on its biggest night in Europe since 2020, beating the Ligue 1 giants 3-2 in their Parc des Princes stadium to take the upper hand in the elite competition’s quarterfinals.
The Catalans went ahead through Raphinha, but then fell 2-1 behind to the hosts when Pedri entered the fray around the hour mark.
With his first touch of a competitive ball since pulling up injured away at Athletic Club in early March, the Spain international let off a wonderful lofted pass which the MVP Brazilian latched onto and smashed home to equalize.
Andreas Christensen then grabbed the winner with his own first contact with the ball by heading home a corner, and as the dust settled on a fantastic first leg victory for the Catalans, Pedri gave an interview to his club’s new streaming platform where he stressed that they got things right in the French capital.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve played in the quarterfinals of the Champions League and we’ve done it on a one-to-one basis.
“We are one of the best teams in the world and we always have to go out like this, to eat the opposition,” Pedri demanded.
That being said, Pedri isn’t confident that the job is already done ahead of the return fixture at the Montjuic Stadium on Tuesday next week.
“The Champions League is complicated, it forces you to go out like this. They put you behind, and you have to know how to suffer and score the chances you have.
“It’s PSG and it’s a Champions League quarterfinal. They’re not going to give us anything. There are 90 minutes left and we will have to come out as intense or more intense than today,” Pedri insisted.
Explaining his assist for Raphinha, Pedri said that the winger is a guy “who doesn’t stop biting” and “finished it like an angel” after the 21-year-old’s delicious ball over the top of the PSG back line.
