Former French international Ludovic Giuly has come out with the statement that it would be tough to see beyond Barcelona for the Champions League winners this time around.
Barcelona have won the Champions League twice in the last three years and that once again the favourites for winning the trophy this time around. However, their form has been indifferent of late and they have lost the advantage in the domestic campaign to Real Madrid. This has been largely due to the indifferent away form, which has seen them drop a number of points away from home. As a result of it, a number of clubs are looking to take advantage of Barcelona’s poor form by getting into the favourites for the Champions League title.
However, Ludovic Giuly is of the opinion that it would be tough to see beyond Barcelona for the winners of the Champions League title this time around. Barcelona have been drawn against Bayern Leverkusen in the last 16 knockout stages after having qualified from a tough group involving AC Milan. While Barcelona are expected to ease past Bayern Leverkusen, the same cannot be said of the upcoming rounds. Teams like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are looking stronger than ever, and they will be posing a great competition to Barcelona’s aspirations of becoming the first team to retain the Champions League.
“Winning La Liga will be hard, but Barca will win the Champions League. Everyone wants to play at Barca, there is no other club like this. The club’s system is based on using fast wingers. There is no other system like Barca’s,” Giuly told Esports COPE. Barcelona currently trail leader Real Madrid by a massive seven points in the league. Hence, they are expected to shift their focus to Europe after the start of the knockout stages.