Reunion in Atlanta: Messi & Co. set for PSG showdown at Club World Cup

MIAMI: Lionel Messi will lead a quartet of former Barcelona players into a meeting with their former coach Luis Enrique when Inter Miami face European champions Paris St Germain in the last 16 of the Club World Cup in Atlanta on Sunday.

Messi, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez all played under Luis Enrique in Spain, and were in the side who knocked PSG out of the Champions League last 16 in the 2016-17 season.

Miami qualified for the last 16 of the Club World Cup as Group A runners-up with a 2-2 draw against Palmeiras on Monday.

Also read: Porto, Al Ahly out after sharing eight goals in thriller

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

PSG have certainly moved on from their traumatic Champions League exit in 2017, when they won the first leg in Paris 4-0 but were thrashed 6-1 in the return match in Barcelona.

The French side claimed their first Champions League title this season in a campaign masterminded by Luis Enrique, but Messi and Co. will be eager to cause another upset.

Suarez showed that at 38-year-old he still has the game to score on the big stage, notching Miami’s second in their draw with Palmeiras.

Also read: Palmeiras salvage draw with Inter Miami as both advance to CWC last 16

KEY QUOTES

Miami coach Javier Mascherano: “They are probably better than us, but in football you never know. Maybe Sunday will be our day.”

Miami forward and Man of the Match Luis Suarez: “If we make these mistakes against PSG we will pay a heavy price. Obviously, in this kind of tournament there is always going to be a favourite, that’s just a fact. We’ll be facing the European champions and we will have to try and take our chances.

“Luis Enrique has seen many players and he influenced me a lot. I already had a competitive DNA but he made me even more competitive.”

Also read: PSG advances to Round of 16, eliminates Sounders