The last time Barcelona and PSG met at the Camp Nou: The Remontada

8 March 2017 will forever be etched into both Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain’s history books. Or rather, it will forever be etched into football’s history books we should say, since that is the night the impossible became possible and dreams became reality – the night of the Remontada.

Of course, it’s been almost four years since that fateful night and Barcelona are still waiting for their next Champions League trophy. Following that victory, there was a feeling of inevitability. After all, if the Catalans can overturn a 4-0 deficit, we thoughts, surely there is little anyone can do to stop them.

Unfortunately, whatever deal was made with the devil that Wednesday four years ago, the price is still seemingly being paid. However, tomorrow evening, both teams will return to the scene of the crime. Tomorrow evening, almost everything will be exactly the same and yet, there’s so much that will also different.

Two giants of European football will face off at the Camp Nou in the Champions League’s Round of 16 and both teams will have serious aspirations to not only win the tie but also go all the way. For Barcelona, this has been a distant dream since Luis Enrique’s treble-winning year while the Parisiens managed to claw their way to the very grand final just last campaign, ultimately losing to Bayern Munich.

This time around, however, Neymar is on the other side of the pitch, although the Brazilian will miss at least the first leg due to injury, and there is no deficit to overturn. Of course, the atmosphere will also not be nearly the same tomorrow since the Camp Nou will be empty bar the virtual crowd noise and the addition of simulated colours in the stands.

Tomorrow’s clash is also the first of the two legs, not the second as was the case four years ago, which could still play a big role in the whole tie. But the fact still remains, Paris Saint-Germain are yet to beat Barcelona in the heart of Catalonia and the last time they’ve tried, it was the Remontada night in March 2017.

In hindsight, seeing how Barcelona were unable to accomplish much even on the wings of such a triumph, that shouldn’t mean too much. In reality, however, it could also mean everything, both psychologically and physically once the teams meet on the green pitches of the Camp Nou come Tuesday night.

However, this is not Lucho’s Barcelona but Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona, that much we have to understand. Tomorrow, it will be Lionel Messi leading a different team, one that doesn’t have Neymar nor Luis Suárez and one that will also miss Sergi Roberto, the player to put the finishing touches on the famous 6-1 game.

But none of that matters because, frankly, we cannot live in the past anymore. Yes, this Barcelona may be in their transitional period and yes, this Barcelona is yet to reach their full potential but it’s also a Barcelona full of promising, young and upcoming talent.

Andrés Iniesta and Ivan Rakitić are replaced by Frenkie de Jong and Pedri while Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé will do their best to emulate Neymar’s and Suárez’s presence. The backline might also be completely different than it was in 2017.

Samuel Umtit was arguably at the peak of his powers back then, forming into a defender Barcelona had hoped to field many years to come. Fate, however, had different ideas and while Big Sam might find himself in the squad to face PSG tomorrow, chances are he will be chained to the bench even if that should be the case.

Javier Mascherano is now long retired and that makes Gerard Piqué the only member of the back three to make it to tomorrow’s clash mostly ‘untouched‘. We say mostly because even though Geri has been training with the team for the last couple of days, Koeman is yet to decide whether he’s fit enough to make a big comeback from his most recent injury.

So clearly, a lot has changed in four year’s time. The same can be said for Paris Saint-Germain. Unai Emery is now in La Liga leading Villarreal while Mauricio Pochettino, the former Tottenham Hotspur gaffer, has taken his spot on the sidelines of the French titans.

The personnel is quite different as well. While we may see the likes of Julian Draxler, Marco Verratti, Layvin Kurzawa and Marquinhos feature tomorrow, the rest of the lineup will get a massive overhaul as a whole. Both Neymar and Ángel Di María are injured so we won’t see them tomorrow evening but PSG have another star to lead their lines – Kylian Mbappé.

Widely regarded as one of the best young players on the planet and the future world’s best, Mbappé will surely be at the heart of PSG’s efforts in both legs of the tie. At 22 years of age, the Frenchman is only getting better as time goes on and his long-awaited duel with Messi could make or break the game for either side once the referee blows the whistle.

At the end of the day, however, this is a clash of two giants of the modern game so it’s likely the tie won’t be decided by two players but rather which 11 can play better as a team. There, Barcelona could have a small, albeit very important, advantage.

Pochettino is still very fresh at the helm of his team and while PSG don’t lack an identity as such, it could be that the Argentine is yet to fully integrate his philosophy into the French titans. Of course, a similar thing could be said of Koeman as well. After all, this is his first full season but he has a tad more experience on the bench of his club than his counterpart.

This could prove vital but at the same time, it also represents a drop in an ocean of possibilities and circumstances that engulf tomorrow’s clash. But it’s Paris Saint-Germain who have to face their demons and return to the arena which only a few have survived.

The dreaded memory of the 6-1 at the Camp Nou will probably never fade from their minds, or ours. Nor shouldn’t it, for that matter.

But tomorrow is a new day, a new clash and a blank page waiting to be filled with brand new memories. Hopefully, it’s also a new opportunity for Barcelona to keep asserting their dominance over the opposition and finally make strides in Europe once again.

Remontada or not, the Catalans must push through and prove a point to us, the opposition and themselves.

Let us hope they do exactly that.