Mata: Barcelona should not take anything for granted after Champions League comeback

Mata: Barcelona should not take anything for granted after Champions League comeback

Juan Mata believes that Barcelona shouldn’t “take anything for granted” after losing to Deportivo on Sunday evening.

Barcelona shocked the football world last Wednesday in the Champions League, as they produced one of the great sporting comebacks against Paris Saint-Germain. The French giants thumped Luis Enrique’s men 4-0 in the first leg of their last 16 tie last month, and looked well on course to progress into this season’s quarter-finals.

However Barcelona blew PSG away, winning the second leg 6-1 on the night, 6-5 on aggregate, with Sergi Roberto’s injury-time strike cancelling out Edinson Cavani’s away goal. While the Camp Nou has subsequently been buzzing over the last few days, the team were brought back down to earth with a bump on Sunday in La Liga.

Enrique’s men suffered a 2-1 defeat at Deportivo La Coruna, denting their title hopes as a result, but Mata believes they shouldn’t have taken anything for granted in the aftermath of their Champions League heroics.

“After one of the most amazing comebacks I’ve ever seen in the Champions League, Barcelona suffered a defeat in Riazor, always a tough stadium and even more now, because it seems Deportivo is reacting with the new manager,” he wrote for his official blog.

“The last four days of Barcelona are good to keep in mind that, in football, there is no truce; we should never take anything for granted.

“If you believe, you can get anything, but you must be aware that every rival will try to put you in trouble.”

Barcelona have scored 77 goals and conceded 23 in their 27 La Liga fixtures this season, with a shot accuracy of 50%, as they sit second on 60 points, two behind leaders Real Madrid.

Next up for them is a home clash with Valencia on Sunday night, before taking on Granada at the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes.

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