Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic believes his side need to ‘respect’ Manchester United in their Champions League quarter-final this month.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side eliminated Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16, coming back from a two-goal first-leg deficit to progress 3-3 on aggregate with away goals coming into play.
“We saw how good they were and we know English clubs are strong at the moment,” Rakitic told journalist Andy Mitten in GQ Magazine.
“Man United are having good results and to score three goals in Paris was incredible. You have to respect Manchester for this comeback, for the organisation and fight in the team with so many young players.
“I have a lot of respect for the British people and the passion which they have for football, the full stadiums.
“You have to know your best side, and the new Man United manager seems to know that. If you have to fight a bit more or play counter-attacking then you do what is best.
“A lot of teams would like to play like Barcelona and have possession. But if you have possession and you lose the game finally, then it’s for nothing and I would not be happy.”
abdulkware
137
To what some l Barcelona fans are thinking the probability of wining the match is 80-20.But to be frank both teams are capable of wining. So Man u shall be respected
EAsoft
129
Now media will say Rakitic dreams of moving to United
Mosanya
105
He is right Barca needs to Manchester United, not only them but our opponents, man UTD are a great team with great history and they have one of the best players , when I say the draw between then and Barca they only thing I can say to Barca is work hard and good luck, because man UTD have that winning mentality, and we need to play them in their game, Good Luck to Barca.
sayantanpatra
80
The only thing..... that can rejuvenate Man United before Barcelona clash...... 😉😉
gamemasterutd
66
A nostalgic return for Messi at the Old Trafford in a game were anything can happen.A draw United and Barca fans wanted badly.Also a match to see whether Utd can upset the Spanish Giants.Lets breakdown the match: Manager Analysis: It is Ole vs Valverde,a strong motivator against a great tactician.Ole has been on a journey with Utd were they have seen a lot of success post Mourinho era.Barcelona with the hunger to win every trophy has been fighting against all odds to win games.Ole has been a hope for Utd fans and surely he will be hoping to get past Barca.Valverde in the other hand will be planning a tactical masterclass to stop Utd getting the win.Due to Valverde's experience in the Ucl and also a embarrassing loss to Roma last season,it seems he will do everything to win the tie. Player showdown: Its Pogba vs Messi,it will be the first time after France vs Argentina in the world cup 2018 that these both are facing each other.On one side we are seeing a Pogba who is capable of destroying teams with the help of Ole and on the other side we are witnessing a Messi,who is doing inhuman stuff to keep Barca alive in all competitions.Also these showdowns will be epic: Lukaku vs Suarez(both have big game form only) De Gea vs Ter Stegen(a match to see who really is the best). Pique vs Smalling Busquets vs Matic(battle of the underated's) Coutinho/Dembele vs Rashford Herrera vs Rakitic(a battle of technique's) Alba vs English Alba(Luke shaw)
Yusbksy
55
the only thing I can add on this piece is that,Barca is way better than PSG. there is something that need to be realise between the two teams, both Barcelona and PSG... people should have to go back to the record where Barcelona defeated PSG with great comeback .. at this current time, Man untd is too little to be considered to play with Barcelona. we need to realise this before the match all the way to Campnou Barcelona FC is in my DNA
futilmnst
49
Barcelona as a team do not have a problem, the only problem is Ernesto Valverde, if he does not learn from last season's mistake when barcelona was eliminated by AS Roma, same thing will happen again, please fans, help us beg the coach, we have a great team
Tesbelnpu
44
I am a man u fan and I love my team, I have something to say here Barca has been consistent and they are on top in that country, but football is done in the pitch, so it's all about who has played well on that particular game, yes all people know that Barcelona will win the game but there will be 22 guys in the pitch, nowadays it's not about the names but are those names will be thinking on that particular day