Serie A manager wants Barcelona in the Champions League Round of 16: “It’d be a wonderful experience” | OneFootball

Lazio manager Maurizio Sarri has said that he would love to face Barcelona in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, saying that it would be a wonderful experience for him.

Barcelona qualified for the knockout round despite facing a 2-3 defeat against Royal Antwerp in their final group stage match.

As a result of finishing at the top of their group, the Blaugrana will be drawn against one of Inter, PSV, Paris Saint-Germain, Lazio, Napoli, FC Porto, RB Leipzig or Copenhagen.

“I’d like to face Barcelona in the Champions Leauge round of 16, honestly,” said the Lazio manager as quoted by Fabrizio Romano.

“That might be trickier, but it’d be my pick as I’ve never faced Barça as a coach and it’d be a wonderful experience,” he added.

Lazio’s run has been underwhelming

Lazio’s run in the UEFA Champions League has been nothing but underwhelming, with the Serie A team winning just three of the six group stage games, finishing second.

Lazio are 10th in Serie A (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Their recent outing in the continental championship of a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid. Even in the league, the team based in Rome has won a mere six of the 15 matches they have played, losing six and drawing three.

Furthermore, it must be taken into account that Sarri is a controversial figure himself.

Although his side qualified for the next round, the achievement was overshadowed by his recent comments when he complained Lazio had ‘performed a miracle’ by qualifying for the knockouts and that the general atmosphere in Rome had ‘unrealistic expectations’ for his team.

“We performed a miracle in going to the round of 16. The comparison with Atletico doesn’t hold up, they are in a different category than us,” he had said.

Barcelona are not doing wonders either as the Blaugrana have lost each of their last two games and are currently fourth in the La Liga standings.