We take nothing for granted, says Barcelona's coach Enrique

Reuters , Thursday 16 Apr 2015

Luis Enrique
FC Barcelona's head coach Luis Enrique looks on prior to the round of 16 first leg Copa del Rey soccer match against Elche at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015 (Photo: AP)

Barcelona will not make the mistake of underestimating Paris St Germain in their Champions League quarterfinal second leg next week after securing a 3-1 win in Paris on Wednesday, according to coach Luis Enrique.

The Spanish side outclassed the French champions with a goal by Neymar and two from Luis Suarez to close on a last-four spot but Jeremy Mathieu's late own goal gave PSG hope ahead of Tuesday's second leg at the Nou Camp.

PSG were without suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marco Verratti and both will be back while Thiago Motta, Verratti's favoured partner in the midfield, is also likely to return from injury.

"They will welcome back players who had been ruled out for today," Enrique told a news conference.

PSG conceded the first goal to Neymar 18 minutes into the game after Adrien Rabiot, who has little experience of the Champions League, lost the ball near the touchline.

He and Yohan Cabaye did not exert the influence normally enjoyed by Italians Thiago and Verratti.

"I do not want to talk about what could have happened with other players on the pitch," PSG coach Laurent Blanc said.

PSG qualified for the last eight with a 2-2 draw at Chelsea after extra time with 10 men following a 1-1 draw in the first leg at home.

"It will be a difficult game, we've seen many things happen," Enrique said.

"We will not make the mistake of thinking that PSG are out. We'll have the same goal in the second leg, which is to win the match."

Suarez, who scored twice in the second half after taking advantage of PSG's weak defence, also said Barca should be cautious.

"I always say the same thing you never know what can happen in football," he told Canal Plus.

"There are 90 minutes left to play and Paris have a huge amount of quality but we have a good advantage and now we have to finish it off."

Blanc was not optimistic when asked to assess his team's chances of pulling off another upset after knocking out Chelsea.

"Doing this kind of thing once is already a huge achievement," he said.

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