- Oct 16, 2026
- 0
- 0
SportsMafia Wire graphic. Team logos and player headshots via ESPN.
Paris Saint-Germain will host Barcelona on Tuesday at Parc des Princes in a marquee Champions League group-stage encounter between two sides that have won their opening two fixtures.
PSG coach Luis Enrique, who previously coached Messi at Barcelona, downplayed comparisons between Messi and 19-year-old Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal. Enrique said Monday that he thinks Yamal wants to be himself and is performing very well. On measuring Yamal against Messi, he noted that comparing anyone with the best player ever leaves only one possible winner.
Yamal has contributed nine goals and ten assists this season for a Barcelona side that has won all eleven matches across all competitions, scoring 48 goals at an average exceeding four per match. The LaLiga leaders are widely regarded as the continent's in-form team.
PSG will be without left-back Nuno Mendes, with Lucas Digne expected to deputize. The back-to-back European champions are seeking to become the first team to defeat Barcelona this campaign. Enrique, a Barcelona member whose wife and children are Catalans, predicted that the competition will start in April rather than now, though he labeled both clubs among the favourites.
Source: ESPN - Mon Oct 19, 9:46 AM ET
Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).