Paris Saint-Germain Pay Price for Champions League Slip by Drawing Barcelona

Paris Saint-Germain have drawn Barcelona in a fiendishly difficult Champions League round-of-16 tie.

Having thrown away top spot in Group A on Matchday 6, Paris relinquished the chance to be selected to face England's ropey champions Leicester City.

Even a tricky-but-beatable Napoli would have been preferable, but fortune has handed Paris a nightmare draw that will serve as a painful lesson for their wastefulness.

That 2-2 draw at home to Ludogorets Razgrad looked a terrible result at the time, but the true cost was always only going to become apparent after this draw. 

Admittedly Arsenal, who usurped Paris atop their group, have fared little better in drawing Bayern Munich, but there were far kinder opponents available in the other half of the draw.

"

⚽ The official result of the #UCLdraw! ⚽

Most exciting match? pic.twitter.com/r2z88m6VtX

— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 12, 2016"

If Unai Emery is going to eclipse predecessor Laurent Blanc's high-water mark of three consecutive Champions League quarter-finals, he must first upset the odds against Barcelona.

The Catalans have knocked PSG out of Europe twice in the last four seasons. The Parisians have won just once in six meetings over that period, a 3-2 home victory in 2014.

Their most recent clash, in the 2014-15 quarter-final, saw the French champions hammered 5-1 on aggregate.

Adding to the weight of history is Emery's abysmal personal record against the Blaugrana. The Spaniard has beaten Barcelona just once in 23 attempts as a manager.

To make matters yet worse, Luis Enrique's side are six points off the pace in La Liga.

Unless Real Madrid slip uncharacteristically between now and February, Barcelona will likely be putting all of their considerable resources behind their European campaign.

MIGUEL MEDINA/Getty Images

PSG too are well back in their domestic title race, but they will be expected to simultaneously pursue the Ligue 1 leaders and European glory. 

Barcelona vice president Jordi Mestre tried to have it both ways in the aftermath of the draw, claiming his club's excellent record against PSG "doesn't guarantee anything," while admitting it "gives us confidence having achieved it the other times we've played." (via Sport).

They will enter the tie as heavy favourites.

It is an oft-repeated cliche that the best teams must be faced and defeated in order to win the European Cup. That is plainly nonsense.

If a simpler draw had been on offer, Paris would have taken it.

So too, though, would Barcelona.

The Spanish champions have a European pedigree PSG simply cannot match and the world's greatest player in their lineup, but there are weaknesses in Luis Enrique's team.

Barcelona are a team that prefer to bring the ball inside.

Their most important players, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi, revel in the tight spaces of a packed midfield.

They are a team lacking in natural width, and that provides an opening for Paris.

Lucas Moura, Layvin Kurzawa and Serge Aurier all have the natural inclination to occupy the widest parts of the pitch.

Their pace allows them to exploit any additional space, and with Marco Verratti orchestrating from a deep role, they will be a genuine threat on the counter-attack.

Barcelona's full-backs are vulnerable. 

Sergi Roberto is a central midfielder playing perpetually out of position.

Michel Euler/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press

He has done well with this tricky task this season but will be out of his depth against the combined might of Kurzawa's athleticism and Lucas' otherworldly trickery. 

On the other flank, Jordi Alba is a natural full-back, but his attacking instincts are his key attribute and he too can be exposed by Aurier's aggressive runs from deep. 

Paris' weaknesses are more pronounced.

In their last three fixtures, PSG have conceded seven goals.

Their opponents in that time have been Montpellier (3-0 winners), Ludogorets Razgrad and Nice (both 2-2 draws).

None were particularly impressive, and yet each managed to repeatedly penetrate Paris' back line.

Their defence was statistically Europe's meanest through the first three months of the season, but it didn't pass the eye test.

Disorganisation and miscommunication were being consistently obscured by fortune and wasteful opponents.

That has now ceased to be the case, and the first-choice combination of Thiago Silva and Marquinhos have been exposed in recent matches.

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Last 7 shots on target faced by Areola ------ 7 goals conceded pic.twitter.com/rvj0cn64wj

— Mohammed Ali (@mohammedali_93) December 11, 2016"

Alphonse Areola has been unimpressive in Paris' goal, but the comically inept defenders in front of him can hardly be helping his confidence.

The arrival of Luis Suarez, Neymar and Messi at the Parc des Princes will do little to arrest that trend.

Europe's most effective attacking trio thrive on creating havoc with their movement and interplay, and there is the real threat that they could eviscerate Paris in the first leg.

Emery's natural caution—he insists on including the entirely pointless Grzegorz Krychowiak at every possible opportunity—should prevent such a one-sided outcome, but he will need to adapt his tactics if Paris are to progress.

Leading Paris beyond the Champions League quarter-finals was the rationale behind the somewhat surprising recruitment of Emery from Sevilla.

His triple Europa League wins lifted the stature of the Andalusian club, and he is in the French capital to do much the same on Europe's greatest stage. 

Domestic struggles have hurt his credibility in the French media, but Emery's time with PSG will be judged far more heavily on their European exploits. 

Knockout ties were his specialty in Seville. 

After all, last season his team were only in the Europa League after crashing out of their Champions League group. 

Few will blame him if Barcelona, a plainly superior team, best Paris over two legs, but an embarrassment will not be tolerated. 

Given the fact he is to blame for Paris finishing second in their group, and without the fig leaf of French domestic baubles, Emery's job will be on the line when Barcelona arrive in February.