Pochettino warns PSG against complacency in Champions League tie with Barcelona

Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino has urged his team to believe they are starting from scratch in their second leg tie against Barcelona despite holding a three goal advantage.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino (left) led his side to a famous victory over Ronald Koeman's Barcelona in February. Lluís Gené AFP/Archivos

PSG go into Wednesday night’s game at the Parc des Princes boasting a 4-1 lead from the first leg at the Camp Nou last month.

Four years ago at the same stage of the competition, the French outfit led 4-0 at the start of the second leg in Barcelona.

But the Spaniards won 6-1 to advance 6-5 on aggregate in a match that was dubbed la remontada.

"I'm not conditioned by what happened in the past or have any emotion about it," said Pochettino on the eve of the clash .

"There's still 90 minutes to play and we have to be consistent throughout the game and imagine that we are starting the tie at 0-0."

Stars

Barcelona boasted Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Neymar in the side that staged the dramatic comeback. Of the troika, only Messi remains. Iniesta has left for Japan and Neymar for PSG.

However the 222-million euro Brazilian will be absent from the encounter with his former club. The 28-year-old has been ruled out with a thigh injury along with striker Moise Kean.

“All the medical staff and fitness coaches made a big effort to get Neymar back for this game and to return overall,” said Pochettino. “It's a shame because he was very excited about playing this game.

“He doesn't just want to play in the Champions League, he wants to be fit and help us achieve objectives in the French Cup and Ligue 1 too.”

PSG’s quest to reach the last eight for the second consecutive season has been boosted with the return of striker Angel di Maria and defender Alessandro Florenzi who both missed the first leg through injury.

“We just have to try to win the game to get to the next round and that's what we'll try to do from the first minute,” added Pochettino.

His counterpart, Ronald Koeman, said the situation was clear. “We need to score goals away from home, which is never easy. But nothing is impossible.

"We know who we are and that we have to win. The team has been showing for some time how mentally strong they are and now they need to go out and show that again.”