Tottenham Hotspur skipper Hugo Lloris believes that his team can defeat Barcelona and Lionel Messi. Spurs play their final Champions League group game against Barcelona tonight. They need a win to qualify for the last 16 of the tournament. However, Spurs can even qualify if they draw or lose provided Inter Milan do the same in their match against PSV. However, given Inter’s form and the fact that they are playing at home, it’s unlikely that the Nerazzurri won’t win. Thus, Tottenham need to defeat Barcelona.
Tottenham have their path cut out as they face the difficult task of beating Barca in their turf. Spurs haven’t won an away against a Spanish club till now. The best they have managed so far are 0-0 and 1-1 draws against Real Madrid in the 1984-85 UEFA Cup and last season’s Champions League respectively.
With first place in their group assured for Barca, there is a chance they might rest their talisman Lionel Messi. However, Lloris seems to think that Messi will play tonight. The French goalkeeper said, “I think it is always a special game to play against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. It is a special place, it is true we will be playing against one of the best players in history. It will not be easy but I think the most important thing is to believe in our chance to go through. We will play 100 per cent with the belief that we can do it. I think it is difficult to stop a player like Leo Messi but if we can do it is only as a team. We will need a strong performance, individually obviously, but mainly as a team.”
Lloris also mentioned that it would be hard for Tottenham to stop Messi who scored two terrific free-kicks on Sunday as Barca thrashed Espanyol. The 32-year old said, “If you watch the free-kicks, there is nothing to do, when it is in the top corner like last night. He is the type of player who can change the game when he decides to. It is very difficult to face a player like him. The only way to make it is to do it as a team, to not give him too much space, to be strong defensively and then believe in our chances. For sure tomorrow we will have opportunities to score. We have to be efficient in both areas, offensively and defensively.”
After playing Barcelona, Tottenham play a league fixture against Burnley on Saturday.