Paris Saint-Germain manager, Unai Emery says his team will not make the same mistake they did against LaLiga leaders, Barcelona in the Champions league last season as they look forward to battle another Spanish giant, Real Madrid.
PSG had taken a 4-0 lead to Camp Nou for the second leg of the round-of-16 tie but were hammered 6-1 in Catalonia, with Sergi Roberto delivering the decisive blow in stoppage time – one of three Barca goals in the final seven minutes.
The Catalan club scored two penalties on their way to snatching the memorable 6-5 aggregate win.
The Parisians will face the Los Blancos in this season’s last 16 Uefa Champions League next month.
Emery believes PSG have grown as a club to command more respect around the continent and among officials.
“You have to divide that tie into two parts,” he told Marca.
“In the first game we won comfortably against a winning side like Barcelona, and then at the Camp Nou we were not able to respond against the same side.
“There is a third element also which was out of our hands and that was the referee. I am saying that referees, against the biggest club, have more respect. Look, not consciously, but involuntarily.
“A year on and that situation has changed for us, and we now have a better capacity to respond against winning teams like Barcelona or Madrid.
“There is more respect for us in Europe and the world. Also among the referees there is more respect for us so as to ensure they are the most accurate as possible. We are better prepared than we were against Barcelona last year,” he said.
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