Manuel Neuer cautious ahead of Champions League tilt vs. FC Barcelona

Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer knows that facing an FC Barcelona squad without Lionel Messi will feel weird, but does not think anyone should overlook the talented La Liga side.

“It’s unfamiliar, of course, for any team to play against Barcelona without Messi. But I wouldn’t say I’m any more relaxed, they still have great players in attack and are maybe even more difficult to predict. When you play against Barcelona you are never relaxed,” Neuer said (as captured by Twitter account @iMiaSanMia).

Neuer thinks that without Messi, the rest of the Barca roster will be looking to ramp it up.

“The players will all be trying to take on more responsibility now that Messi isn’t there anymore. It’s obviously an unfamiliar situation for every team that lines up against Barcelona now,” said Neuer. “We’ll obviously never forget our game in 2020, but these are two new group stage games and we’re looking forward to two big ones. It’s a cracker to kick things off in the UCL and we’re excited to start our journey in this season’s competition,” said Neuer (as captured by Twitter account @FCBayernEN).