Newcastle United forward warns Barcelona ahead of CL showdown – ‘Make their lives miserable’ | OneFootball

Harvey Barnes, the scorer for Newcastle United in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 against FC Barcelona, made it clear that despite the 1-1 draw at St James’ Park, his team is full of belief ahead of the return leg at the Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Barnes handed the lead to the Magpies last Tuesday, only to see his goal cancelled out by a late Lamine Yamal penalty.

With everything to play for in the second leg, the winger has issued a warning to Barcelona, stating that while Newcastle respect their quality, they will spare no effort in making life hard for the Catalans on the pitch.

“You have to respect their quality, but not respect them on the pitch,” he told the Newcastle Chronicle (h/t Mundo Deportivo).

“You have to make their lives miserable,” Barnes added.

The 28-year-old winger, who has recorded 14 goals and four assists so far this season, insisted that Newcastle must maintain the same aggressive style that allowed them to compete strongly in the first leg.

“You can’t show them too much respect. If you do, they’ll punish you and create chance after chance,” he explained.

Barnes scored for Newcastle against Barcelona. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

“We did that that night: we pressed them from the first minute and tried to do it throughout the game. You can’t let them come here, dictate the game, and show off their class. You have to make their lives miserable,” he continued.

In Barnes’s view, giving Barcelona too much space or respect inevitably leads to danger because the Catalan side has players of enormous quality capable of creating constant attacking opportunities.

He particularly highlighted Newcastle’s collective defensive effort in limiting Barcelona’s possession and opportunities around the penalty area.

Barnes also made it clear that the main aspect Newcastle must improve in the second leg in Barcelona is taking advantage of their chances.

“We’ve shown time and again that when we play at our best, we can compete with these top teams. There have been too many occasions this season where we’ve dropped below that level, and it’s cost us dearly in the Premier League,” Barnes noted.

“But in the Champions League, we’ve been at our best; we played very well, with and without the ball, and we deserved to leave with a lead. Next week we’ll be at our best,” he reiterated.