PARIS: Leonardo’s assertion that Paris St. Germain are made for the Champions League but not for low-key Ligue 1 matches could backfire today if they do not show a dramatic improvement against Valencia in a last 16 second leg.
Sports director Leonardo explained PSG’s embarrassing 1-0 league defeat at battling 10-man Stade Reims on Saturday by saying: “Maybe we have a team made for Europe, based on talent and passing quality, not for that kind of game.” PSG indeed looked a different side from the one who beat Valencia 2-1 away in the first leg and their chances of success in Wednesday’s home game have been hurt by suspensions to striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and midfielder Marco Verratti.
The Ligue l leaders’ defeat by Reims was the second in a row against a lowly team after they were humbled 3-2 by Sochaux before back-to-back wins against arch rivals Olympique Marseille in the league and French Cup.
PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti blamed a bad pitch at Reims for the loss but there will be no excuses on Wednesday on their Parc des Princes turf, where 37-year-old David Beckham could make his first Champions League appearance since 2010 with AC Milan.
The former England captain, who signed a short-term deal with PSG in January, could start the match unless Ancelotti decides to field Clement Chantome or Thiago Motta returns from injury.
The Italian coach is likely to change his center back pairing with captain Thiago Silva in the running to feature for the first time in more than seven weeks after recovering from a thigh problem.
The Brazilian’s return would be a boost to PSG, who could have all but sealed their last-eight qualification in Valencia if they had made more of their domination before allowing the Spaniards to pull a goal back late on.
Valencia are missing usual center backs Adil Rami and Ricardo Costa.
France international Rami, who netted their 90th-minute goal in the first leg, is still recovering from a muscle strain in his left thigh while the Portuguese defender, who has suffered a minor muscle problem, has been left out of the squad.
Valencia drew 2-2 at home to city rivals Levante on Saturday, conceding late to miss out on a victory that would have lifted them above Malaga into fourth in La Liga.
Paraguay forward Nelson Valdez reckons the European Cup is a good benchmark for Valencia.
Juve takes on Celtic
Meanwhile in Milan, Juventus playmaker Andrea Pirlo could be forgiven for having the 2005 Champions League final on his mind when the Italian side take a 3-0 advantage into their last-16 second-leg clash against Celtic on Wednesday.
Pirlo was in the shell-shocked AC Milan team who blew a 3-0 halftime lead against Liverpool before losing on penalties in one of the most astonishing European finals in history.
Celtic, beaten 3-0 at home, need to end Juve’s 17-match unbeaten European run and re-write the Champions League record books when they visit the Italian champions but Pirlo, a 2006 World Cup winner with Italy, has seen it all.
The Scottish team could get inspiration from South America’s Libertadores Cup where Mexican side America pulled off a remarkable win against Brazil’s Flamengo at the Maracana stadium five years ago.
Trailing 4-2 from the home leg, the Mexicans silenced the famous arena with a 3-0 win regarded as one of the greatest humiliations in Flamengo’s history. A quick look at UEFA statistics, however, highlights the immensity of the task facing Celtic at the Juventus Stadium.
Only two teams have come back from losing the first leg at home to win a tie in the knockout stages of the Champions League since the competition started 21 years ago.
Inter Milan did it two seasons ago, when they lost 1-0 at home to Bayern Munich but won 3-2 away to go through on away goals, and Ajax pulled off a similar fightback against Panathinaikos back in 1995-96.
Like Inter, the Dutch side had only a one-goal deficit to make up, compared to Celtic’s three.
If that were not enough, Celtic are also facing a team who have not lost in European competition for three years, when they were sunk 4-1 by Fulham in the Europa League.
Juventus were knocked out of the following year’s Europa League without losing any of their 10 games and are unbeaten after seven matches in the current campaign.
The Serie A leaders are leaving nothing to chance, although coach Antonio Conte might be tempted to rest Arturo Vidal, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Claudio Marchisio who are one yellow card from suspension.
Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini broke with the usual convention, under which players refuse to talk about potential opponents in the next round, by saying he wanted to avoid Porto in the quarterfinals.
