'A lesser evil' -- how Barcelona players reacted to PSG draw

'A lesser evil' -- how Barcelona players reacted to PSG draw

They would have preferred Porto but they were happy to avoid Bayern Munich 

The draw was advancing and Bayern Munich had still not come out. Barcelona's players were starting to panic. The first two teams to come out of Pot Two could not draw the Catalan side, as they were Manchester City and Real Madrid. The third was Benfica, who drew Borussia Dortmund. Then came Bayern Munich, fourth. The most feared team among the runners-up pot. 

A content silence and a sense of relief followed seconds later when Ruud Gullit displayed the name of Arsenal as Bayern's opponents. However, there was more emotion when Porto came out, the team most of the players wanted, and were not paired with Barça. When it was revealed that Bayer Leverkusen would also not face Luis Enrique's side, PSG's name spread to everyone's lips, as they new they could not draw Sevilla. 

"A lesser evil," was how one of the dressing room's heavyweights labelled the draw against the French champions. It was a sensation which echoed through all the players. Despite playing against one of Europe's stronger sides, there are many positives: a short and comfortable trip, a nice stadium, an interesting rival capable of filling Camp Nou for the second leg and a side who have still not hit top form since Unai Emery arrived. 

In addition, the precedents side with Barça: they've won the last three games between the two sides and lost just one of six, knocking the French team out of the Champions League twice in the last four seasons.