Lionel Messi says Barcelona must ‘start from scratch’ in the Champions League

Lionel Messi says Barcelona must “start from scratch” in the Champions League and learn from their mistakes in Europe’s top competition.

The Catalan giants eased into the knockout stages as winners of Group F and did not suffer defeat in their six games so far against Dortmund, Inter and Slavia Prague.

However, the club have suffered in the knockout stages in the last few seasons, suffering painful defeats to Roma and Liverpool, and Messi says they must not make the same errors again.

“We must start from scratch because it is a new year, a new competition,” he said,

”We learn from the past, from mistakes, and focus on the present.

”It would be a mistake to fall into that [trap] again.”

The draw for the next round will take place on Monday and could see Barca come up against Premier League sides Chelsea and Tottenham or Napoli, Atalanta or Lyon.