The Catalan group won the first leg of the knockout round of the UEFA Champions League, 2-0 away to Manchester City. But coach Gerardo Martino says his team has no time to rest after this very important victory.
Lionel Messi from penalty and Dani Alves in the last minute of the game were the ones who determined the final outcome of the first meeting between Man City and Barcelona in the knockout round of UCL. It was a controversial decision at the beginning of the second half when Martin Demichelis saw the red card for a foul on Messi, followed by a penalty. Unfortunately for the hosts, the contact between the two footballers occurred outside the box, and does not impose a penalty kick.
With an advantage of two away goals, Barca is favorite to qualify, and could handle a little more relaxed the return match. But it’s not concur and ‘Tata’ Martino, who wants to keep players at maximum intensity until the end of the season.
“For 10 minutes during the first half we lost control a little but in the rest of the game we did well,” said the Catalans coach.
“We have to remain calm and continue along the same path because there is no time to relax as we must now start thinking about our next game in La Liga. We have clear objectives in each tournament.
“We can play better or we can play worse than tonight but in no way are we going to relax.” added Gerardo Martino.
Barcelona shared first place in the Primera Division standings with Atletico and Real Madrid, and this weekend will have a very hard task to Real Sociedad, team that aims to qualify in a Champions League positions at the end of the season.