Let’s be fair, in normal circumstances, pretty much everyone would agree that Barcelona don’t have a cat in hell’s chance of making it to this year’s Champions League semi-finals.
On Tuesday night, they were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline in Turin as a Paulo Dybala-inspired Juventus took charge of their quarter-final meeting with the Spanish champions.
But given that Luis Enrique’s men managed to overcome a four goal deficit against Paris Saint-Germain the other week – scoring three times in the game’s final five minutes – you can see why some people are refusing to rule Barca out.
Sure, Juventus are a team that have proven in recent years that, unlike PSG, they know how to defend against teams with far greater attacking threats than the likes of Bastia and Dijon. Their defensive unit is organised and hard to break down – even for the likes of Messi, Suarez and Neymar. However, by the time kick-off in the Nou Camp arrives next week, you can sure as shit bet that the majority of those in the famous old stadium will be expecting another unlikely comeback from the home side.
But while recent history might tell us not to write off Barca, one man has done exactly that. Unsurprisingly, that man is Roy Keane, someone who knows a thing or two about kick-starting an unlikely Champions League comeback against Juventus.
“Barcelona still look sharp going forward but at the back they were awful and this game is over,” he said during ITV’s highlights show.
Just to be absolutely sure that Keane meant what he’d said, host Mark Pougatch asked: “You think it’s over do you?”
“The tie’s over… No chance,” Keane added.
"This game is over" Barcelona have "no chance" says Roy Keane https://t.co/oEAt3Vygdj
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) April 12, 2017
As Lee Dixon adds, expect this video to do the rounds if Barca do manage to pull off another miraculous comeback.
Catch up with this week’s episode of 888Sport Football Friday Live