Monday 18 February 2019 19:36, UK
Barcelona will not underestimate Olympique Lyonnais when they travel to Stade des Lumieres for the first leg of their last-16 tie in the Champions League on Tuesday, says midfielder Sergio Busquets.
Lyon have shown they are capable of pulling an upset this season, having won 2-1 at Manchester City in the group stages and they also handed Paris Saint-Germain their first loss of the season in Ligue 1 a couple of weeks ago.
With players like Tanguay Ndombele, Nabil Fekir, Memphis Depay in midfield and Moussa Dembele in attack, Lyon boast plenty of quality and Busquets insists Barca will be wary.
"I have a lot of respect for Lyon, they beat PSG recently," midfielder Sergio Busquets told reporters.
"They have very fast players in the midfield and in attack, they try to create space. We have to close those spaces."
Barca laboured to a 1-0 win against Valladolid in La Liga on Saturday and have scored just two goals in their last three matches but head coach Ernesto Valverde expects his team to show more fluency going forward against Lyon.
"It is going to be a big challenge for us," Valverde said. "But we're hungry and ready for this game.
"It is true that scoring an away goal is important because if you don't, it leaves everything up in the air for the second leg.
"Everybody has their opinion but the question is surprising. Maybe we have not created that many chance but we always attack.
"Tomorrow we will see."