Greeks with ´nothing to lose´ against Barca

Kostas Katsouranis has urged his Panathinaikos teammates to attack Barcelona when the two teams meet in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Greeks – thrashed 5-1 by the Catalans when the two sides met at the Camp Nou in the first match in Group D – appointed former Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira as their manager on Saturday and the Portuguese’s first match in charge will be against the mighty Barcelona.

“If I could change one thing from that first match it’s the way we defended,” defensive midfielder and vice-captain Katsouranis said.

“We have to be far more aggressive in the way we defend and not allow them the time and space to do what we know they are capable of.”

Having yet to win a match in this season’s Champions League, the home side have one eye on a place in the Europa League. The Greek champions are propping up the Group D table with just two matches remaining and trail second-placed FC Copenhagen by five points and third-placed Rubin Kazan by a point.

“Really, we have nothing to lose and it’s a great chance for us to achieve something spectacular if we get a result against them, one of the greatest teams in the world,” Katsouranis said.

“Our target now is the UEFA Europa League, even though it is still possible for us to get to the knockout stage. We have to get maximum points in the remaining games.”

“We must be disciplined, deny them space to play their game and take the chances that come our way. That is the only way.”