Goals from Lionel Messi and Dani Alves were the only tallies needed for Barcelona as they took down Manchester City in the opening leg of the 2013-2014 UEFA Champions League Round of 16, an impressive victory for a team looking to make a serious tournament run. The two powers played to a scoreless opening half but thanks to a Messi penalty score at the 54 minute mark and another goal 36 minutes later, the La Liga giants provided themselves with a two-goal advantage as they departed Etihad Stadium. Now set to return to the comforts of Camp Nou, Barcelona will look to move into the quarterfinal round with another strong showing against a City club hoping to achieve what would be a tremendous comeback.
“It goes quickly in football,” Man City captain Vincent Kompany said at the pre-match press conference. “Last week we won the first trophy of the season then we got beaten at home by Wigan. I guess whichever team wins will be on a high again but we will focus on our own game. I am looking to the strikers we have - Sergio Aguero, Alvaro Negredo, Edin Dzeko - that is what I want to focus on. We have firepower up front. If everything goes well we are capable of hurting Barcelona.
“I would say we have a chance to come here and we don't have anything to lose,” he continued. “It is all about that first goal. If we get the lead then I believe the dynamics of the game will change. I am convinced of that, but obviously it is one of the toughest places in the world to come and try to achieve something like this. I am really excited about this one and the whole team is the same. We will try to make the best of it. The motivation and the belief are still there.”
Coming off a 1-0 loss to La Liga rival Real Valladolid, Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino knows his team will need to erase the defeat in quick fashion to avoid any letdown against Manchester City in the UCL. Despite owning a 2-0 cushion, the Barca boss says the Catalan club needs to keep applying pressure in order to old back a talented City offense.
“If we have that 0-2 score in mind, we are risking the whole tie,” he said. “We have to think of this game as the second half of a game and we are still goalless. We can’t sit back and wait and see what happens. Every time you lose a game, the next few days are always tough. We’ve spoken a lot – the players and myself, but this is a different competition and I can see that we are really up for it.”
Barcelona vs. Manchester City: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO
EVENT: UEFA Champions League Round of 16, Second Leg
DATE: Wednesday, March 12
TIME: 3:45pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: FOX Deportes / FOX Sports 1
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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