On the eve of hosting Brest on the 5th day of the Champions League, Iñigo Martinez ensures that FC Barcelona takes the performance of the French club, still undefeated on the European scene, very seriously.
Stade Brestois will go to Barcelona in a position of strength. Eric Roy's team, the big surprise of the season in the Champions League with three wins and a draw in the first four days, faces the Catalans this Tuesday in Montjuic (9 p.m.). Facing the La Liga leader, deprived of Lamine Yamal, the Brestois were closely studied by the Barcelonans, who are not taking this meeting lightly.
“They are doing a great job, it is no coincidence that they have not lost a match,” said Iñigo Martinez at a press conference on Monday. “If we disrespect them, we will pay dearly. It's a very good match tomorrow, to win and forget our last two matches (a defeat and a draw in La Liga, Editor's note). Tomorrow (Wednesday), we have a very big rival, we will fight to get victory.”
>> Information before the 5th day of the Champions League live
The match in Salzburg as an example
Already surprised by Monaco during the first day of the Champions League (1-2), Barça does not want to relive the same experience against another French club. In front of their home crowd, the Catalans will have to “have control of the ball” and be efficient to get the three points. “They are good at set pieces, and they know how to manage transitions well. Brest have performed very well in the last few matches, they deserve their ten points and we saw what they did in Salzburg (0-4) They're a good team, they're in the rhythm of the Champions League and that's what we're going to do, our goal is to beat them,” Hansi Flick told the team. journalists.
After facing less posh opponents on paper, apart from Leverkusen, the Bretons are up against the five-time winner of the C1. Despite difficulties in Ligue 1 (12th), Brest is moving forward uninhibited, its place for the play-offs being almost assured. “It’s a small team that is planned for us, we will try not to have too much of a superiority complex to achieve a good result there,” coach Eric Roy joked on Friday. The sign that his team has nothing to lose in Catalonia.
AS with Edgar Groleau in Barcelona