Di Francesco reveals strategy to defeat Barca

CAIRO – 27 March 2018: Roma manager Eusebio Di Francesco believes that his team has to stop all Barcelona players, not only Lionel Messi, to achieve victory over the Catalan club when they meet in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

“We don’t want to keep Messi quiet, but the whole team. Messi is the best player in the world, but a way to mark him out of the game doesn’t exist,” Di Francesco told Roma’s website on Monday.

Barcelona hosts Roma on Wednesday, April 4 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals before playing the second leg a week later in Italy.

Di Francesco added, “It’s a game we will take on with great respect for Barcelona’s quality, but no fear.”

Roma will meet Bologna on Saturday afternoon in the Italian domestic league, and Di Francesco believes that the players have to focus at this time on Bologna’s game more than the Champions League.

The Italian manager said, “It’s clear that people will think about the game [againt Barca], but Bologna is a key game for us in the battle to finish third.”

Roma is placed third in the league with 59 points, four points ahead of the fourth-placed Inter Milan, which has played one game less than Roma.