messi-barcelona.jpg
Getty Images

Paris Saint-Germain's Abdou Diallo said it best. After the 3-0 win the round of 32 of the Coupe de France over Stade Brestois 29 over the weekend he was asked about the possibility of the French giants throwing away another UEFA Champions League knockout phase first leg lead against Barcelona.

"You bore us with your remontada talk," the 24-year-old told journalists. "That was then. We are different players now. It was something completely different. We are not stressing about it."

Since PSG beat Barca 4-1 at Camp Nou in the first leg of their round of 16 tie last month, the Catalan outfit's improbable recovery from a 4-0 opening leg loss to advance 6-5 on aggregate after a 6-1 win in Catalonia has gradually surfaced as a topic ahead of this week's return leg in Paris.

Perhaps it is because of PSG's continuing domestic struggles which were emphasized by a 2-0 home defeat to AS Monaco in Ligue 1 just days after the demolition of Barca or it might be because Ronald Koeman's men have shown signs of life since by beating Sevilla in La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

Regardless, the past cannot be changed, but the future can be shaped and nobody in Paris fears a repeat of the events of just over four years ago when Unai Emery's PSG side completely capitulated and exited the Champions League in some of the most humiliating circumstances imaginable.

Yes, Deniz Aytekin's refereeing was questionable to put it as politely as possible -- to the point where he is gagged when discussing his performance in the press -- and Neymar was phenomenal with two goals and an assist in seven wild minutes late on at Camp Nou.

However, PSG completely fell to bits as the home fans sensed the most unlikely of recoveries and even failed to see the match out after Edinson Cavani had scored an away goal just after the hour mark in a collective implosion that scarred the capital club for years after that.

Until last season's Champions League final run, the Ligue 1 titleholders' mental strength was still questionable with Real Madrid and Manchester United dumping them out under Emery and then Thomas Tuchel.

The United elimination was a particularly bitter pill to swallow as PSG had given themselves a first leg lead with an impeccable display at Old Trafford to secure a 2-0 advantage that was then thrown away in a 3-1 home loss that was not without further refereeing controversy.

By this point, the main survivors of the remontada were captain Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani -- both have now left -- current skipper Marquinhos, midfield maestro Marco Verratti, influential creator Angel di Maria, attacking left-back Layvin Kurzawa and peripheral figure Julian Draxler.

Crucially, though, superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were added to the squad at significant cost and although the Frenchman was present against both Real and United, the Brazilian was injured for three of those four games.

As PSG showed last year when they overcame Erling Haaland's Borussia Dortmund, neutral darlings Atalanta BC and Julian Nagelsmann's vibrant RB Leipzig, having both Neymar and Mbappe present has helped to create a new mentality.

The group stage turnaround under Tuchel and the first leg demolition of Barca illustrates that this new face has staying power and the arrival of Pochettino has the potential to see that strong chemistry within the squad develop even further.

Add to that Barca's unconvincing continental form, despite their recent recovery against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey, and the prospect of a second remontada becomes even more remote than the first was, nobody truly believes it because of the Catalans' state of general disarray.

Even without Neymar, who has been ruled out of the second leg through the same adductor injury that kept him out of the first, PSG have the quality and mentality to get the job done against a Barca side the remains vulnerable at the back with Gerard Pique injured again.

Even the French press, who traditionally like to tempt fate with Les Parisiens in Europe, have only halfheartedly discussed the prospect of another remontada and seemingly accept the reality that this current Barca represents the end of an era.

Joan Laporta's return as president could be the start of a new one but it is unlikely enough to raise the Blaugrana sufficiently enough to knock PSG out, even if a win at Parc des Princes is not impossible.

Instead, PSG are likely to make it through without major drama as with the ghosts of the past already exorcised and a return to the Champions League final the aim with Pochettino injecting new life into the group that finally moved on from remontada under Tuchel.

Craving even more coverage of the world's game? Listen below and subscribe to ¡Qué Golazo! A Daily CBS Soccer Podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and around the globe for commentary, previews, recaps and more.