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LONDON (Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur must do what an 11-year-old English team has not managed to win in Barcelona's Champions League next month if it wants to retain its place in the round of 16.
Tottenham coach Mauricio Pocetino during his squad's Champions League match against Inter Milan on Wednesday. Picture of Eddie Kueh-Reuters
Cristian Eriksen's goal in the 80th minute gave Tottenham a 1-0 win over Inter on Wednesday, which pushed the Italian team to finish second in Group B thanks to its superiority in direct encounters. .
But he must achieve a result similar to that of his last match in the group, at least when his coach Luciano Spalletti will be the host of Eindhoven. The victory will be enough during his first visit to Camp Nou since his 1-0 defeat in the semi-finals of the 1982 Cup.
"Anything is possible," Tottenham coach Mauricio Pocetino said at the end of a tense meeting at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday. I do not say at all that it is impossible, in football everything can happen and you have to believe it.
"It will be difficult (win in Barcelona), but it is very important to believe in it.To go to Barcelona and for us to perform well, we need energy and vitality, as well as a fresh spirit and without injuries. "
"We respect Barcelona, Barcelona is one of the best teams in Europe and certainly has excellent players, it will be a difficult match, but we believe in the possibility of winning."
The last three results of Barcelona were opposed to the English teams with a 3-0, 4-0 and 3-1 victory against Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal respectively.
Liverpool was the last to win the Nou Camp in 2007 in the Champions League.
Inter's coach, Spalletti, hopes that Barca, who has already secured first place in the group, will keep his record at home in Europe.
Bayern Munich was the last to win the Nou Camp in April 2013 and since then Barcelona have maintained their undefeated record in 28 matches.
"I am confident that Barcelona will not offer anything easily in Tottenham even after qualifying," Spalletti told reporters, whose team would have secured the knockout stage for the knockout stages.
"Players like (Lionel) Messi and (Gerard) Becky, I do not dare to think about it, I'm sure they'll give everything they'll have and play to win every game."
Tottenham got his best chance at a thrilling evening at Boimble when Harry Winx hit the crossbar in the first half and pushed Jan Freton with a header before Eriksen shakes the net to seal the victory.
"The performance was very good, the win was deserved, the Inter had a good performance, it's hard to beat it, the players deserve praise because the performance was very good."
"We have controlled and shot the best chances and we are now in a position that depends on what we are going to achieve."
Prepared by Shadi Amir for publication in Arabic
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