MILAN: Massimiliano Allegri insists his AC Milan side have no fear in tackling Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinal, first leg at the San Siro on Wednesday.
The plum tie of the last eight pits the seven-time champions against the holders, who are widely regarded as the best team in the world.
And while Barca were the team everyone wanted to avoid in the draw, Allegri says there are no nerves from his side.
“We’re serene, I’ve got no knots in my stomach, we’re in the top eight in Europe which hadn’t happened for four years,” he said.
“We know full well this is the most difficult quarterfinal, it’s very difficult, but also for Barcelona who are more favourites than us.
“We know their strengths but there’s no fear. We need to play the way we know how but if we don’t manage it, we’ll applaud (Barca coach Pep) Guardiola and his team.
“We won’t play with fear, we’ll play a great match with a lot of effort.
“We’ve already played them and we hope we’ve got good memories and have learnt something.
“We know more or less how they play, it will be a great match, very difficult from a psychological perspective.
“But there will be no need to motivate the players, you don’t need motivating for a fascinating challenge.”
The two sides already met in the group stages and although the scores were close — a 2-2 draw in Spain and 3-2 win for the Catalans in Italy — Barcelona clearly dominated both times.
Allegri says his team must score while cutting out the mistakes that cost them at the San Siro last time out.
And he has vowed to attack.
“We’ll tackle Barca with courage, motivation and serenity,” he said.
Meanwhile, with most fans keeping an eye on Lionel Messi, it will be Zlatan Ibrahimovic that is out to prove something when AC Milan hosts defending champions Barcelona.
Ibrahimovic spent an unhappy season at Barcelona before heading to Milan after falling out with coach Pep Guardiola and several of his teammates. But on Saturday, he scored his 29th goal of the season in Milan’s 2-1 win over Roma.
“We have had so many champions, this one seems to me to be one of the best,” Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said. “It will be a great match.
“Milan has been used to these kind of matches for so many years and I’m happy when Milan fights. Last year we were in battle with Inter, this year with Juventus: the opponent changes, but we are always there. At the end you lose, you win, you draw, but what’s important is to keep the club at the top.”
In the Champions League, Ibrahimovic has scored five goals in six games. Messi, however, scored that amount of goals in his last Champions League game, a 7-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen. (Agencies)
