Interview with Terry Phelan: Juventus Must Play as a Team Like Real Madrid to Win Champions League

The 2018/19 Champions League got underway this week and it has already thrown up a few interesting results. The biggest fixture saw Liverpool beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 at Anfield while Barcelona got their campaign underway with a 4-0 win over PSV Eindhoven.

We caught up with Terry Phelan; a face that has become familiar to Indian fans staying up to watch the Champions League on TV.

The former Premier League player gives his expert opinion during Sony Pictures Networks' telecast of Europe's premier club competition and he gave us his thoughts on the European campaign.

Here are a few excerpts.

Can Paris Saint-Germain break their jinx in the Champions League and move past the quarter-finals this season?

When this competition first started off one's money would have been on PSG but when you look at their performance against Liverpool you have second thoughts.

They're great going forward but when they don't have the ball they're not as efficient. They don't have the work-rate of a club like Liverpool.

This competition is about hard work-rate. They've gone out and bought big-money players to win the Champions League. What they need to do is knuckle down and start grinding results out in the Champions League.

Neymar has been brought in to win this competition but I thought he was poor against Liverpool.

Liverpool v Paris Saint-Germain - UEFA Champions League Group C

Is the lack of competition in Ligue 1 affecting PSG's preparation for the Champions League?

I don't think it prepares them. Unlike the Premier League where any team can beat anybody, in France, you have only one team and that's PSG. No one can really touch them. In the Premier League, you have six or seven big teams. And everyone wants to win the EPL title.

If Neymar and co don't get their act together, they might even find it difficult to get out of the group.

Why have English clubs failed to reach the latter stages of the Champions League in the past few seasons?

In the EPL, there is no mid-season break. It's a league with high-intensity football where, I must reiterate, anybody can beat anybody. You have to play your top players and you are going to have injuries.

But if you look at LaLiga, you have only two, maybe three, teams that compete for the title. In England, there are six teams in the title race. And you need your best players even for a trip to Burnley on a windy Tuesday night.

The English teams don't have a Christmas break, unlike the other leagues. Their schedule is jam-packed. So it's difficult [to compete].

Manchester City and Liverpool are two favourites for the Champions League: Phelan

I think the English teams are stronger now. Manchester City and Liverpool are favourites while Manchester United are dark horses because Jose Mourinho knows how to win this competition but he still needs to find his best XI.

Which four teams are most likely to reach the semi-finals this season (the knockout draw notwithstanding)?

Barring injuries, Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Manchester City are going to be up there. Then you've probably got anyone between PSG - if they get their act together - and Bayern Munich. Then you have outsiders like Juventus and Barcelona.

What is your take on Barcelona this season? Are they a bit too dependent on Lionel Messi for creativity - especially after Andres Iniesta's departure?

Ousmane Dembele has scored four goals, Lionel Messi has grabbed a hat-trick, then you have Philippe Coutinho. Barcelona need to sort their back four out. I think that is where they will struggle in the Champions League.

They play an awfully high line against lesser teams. And if you get the ball off of them and attack their full-backs and get in behind them, Barcelona will struggle.

Phelan: Barcelona's defence could struggle in the latter stages

Yes, they have lost a bit of creativity after Iniesta's exit and they have moved away from tiki-taka, but they've got Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic in midfield with Sergio Busquets while Coutinho could play as a no.10.

So they still have creativity but they need to deliver soon if they are to move past the quarter-finals (Barcelona have been eliminated in the quarter-finals in the past three seasons).

Are Juventus a complete team with Cristiano Ronaldo in the side? Can he get them over the line after the team fell at the final hurdle twice in three years?

I just hope it isn't a Ronaldo circus at Juventus. You have a lot of quality in that squad. You've got [Paulo] Dybala, [Mario] Mandzukic, and [Miralem] Pjanic. There's a wealth of experience in that squad.

They have to play like a team, like how Real Madrid are at the moment [after Ronaldo's exit]. Karim Benzema is scoring goals, Gareth Bale is scoring goals. Marco Asensio, Isco... They have quality there.

Juventus made a great addition with Ronaldo and they just need to keep him fit and healthy. Personally, I would have kept Gonzalo Higuain and played him up front with Ronaldo and Mandzukic.

Phelan predicts Lionel Messi to finish as this season's top goal scorer

What is your prediction for the top goalscorer in the Champions League this season? I need only one name.

Oh, wow. One name? It's going to be hard to give you one name considering the array of players in there. Lionel Messi is on form at the moment and you'd think Messi would get it. I'd have to go with Messi.