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Levante manager Paco Lopez has been talking about his side’s chances of beating Barcelona in La Liga this week and how to cope with Lionel Messi.
Barcelona head to the Estadi Ciutat de València on a run of seven straight wins in all competitions, while Messi was in sensational form against Real Valladolid last time out.
Of course Lopez guided Levante to a 5-4 win over Barca in 2018, that ended their hopes of going through the season unbeaten, but says his team must be perfect to repeat that feat.
“Throughout a season there are very few sides who can beat Barcelona. That year, on the penultimate weekend of the season, no one had been able to beat them and we did it.
”Things have to go perfectly [to win] with the support and help of the 22,000.
“That is impossible [keeping Messi quiet]. I have not seen any team who has found that magic potion. There are no longer remedies for what he does.
”We have to put in a good collective shift. To stop Barcelona and Messi, you have to be perfect.”
Source | Marca
Levante will head into the match as underdogs but beat high-flying Real Sociedad 2-1 at Anoeta in their last La Liga outing.