Sebastian Kehl: "We've shown that we can surpass ourselves" | OneFootball

Sebastian Kehl on the approach to the game against Barcelona: "We'll need to be courageous and to have phases of possession in order not to give Barcelona too much space. They will play dominant football, they score an unbelievable amount of goals. We've also done that in the Champions League, by the way. They have the top goalscorer in the Champions League in Raphinha – but we have the second-top goalscorer, Serhou, with us. We're aware of Barcelona's strengths, but we will still create opportunities to switch the play time and time again. Barcelona play with a very high backline. They will offer up spaces and we will try to attack them."

…the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona: "I believe that FC Barcelona have long since gotten used to this stadium and have played some really good games there. It may well be a different atmosphere. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter to us where we play. We know that it will become heated and we know that they're a really good team. But we have to fight back, we have to go into this match with the right attitude and with the right intensity. I can only say that we're all extremely looking forward to it and I hope that this excitement will translate into passion tomorrow too."

…home advantage in the return leg: "I think that Barcelona will of course try everything tomorrow in order to put themselves in a very good position. Because they know what it might be like at ours next week. We have repeatedly shown in the past that we can surpass ourselves. But first of all, we will need a really good performance tomorrow, and a good result too."

…the 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the league phase: "Barcelona have extreme strengths and a great many difference-makers. They showed that in the match in the league phase, amongst others. We lost that game in the end – even though we were at least on their level in the second period and could have turned the game in a different direction. All of these moments will give us hope for the two matches, but they are knockout games and slightly different to a league phase game."

…the absence of Nico Schlotterbeck: 
"It's really been a shock for us. The operation, which was carried out yesterday evening, now means that he will be out of action for several months, around half a year. That's the current prognosis. But one thing is clear: Nico will get our total support. He is a very important player for us. We will sorely miss him over the coming weeks and we will need him as soon as he comes back again. That will of course have an impact on tomorrow's game and on the coming weeks. Nico is also sad, as are we – it is a loss that weighs heavily. But we will try everything tomorrow to bring him a little joy in front of the television."