Following a comfortable 2-0 win against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg at the Etihad on Tuesday, Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino promised thathis players would not lose concentration during the return at the Camp Nou on March 12. Star striker Lionel Messi gave the visitor the lead from the penalty spot in the 54th minuteand Dani Alves secured the win in the 90th minute.
In his post-game press conference, Martino said he was mostly satisfied with the performance. “For 10 minutes duringthe first half we lost control a little, but in the rest of the game we did well,” the Argentine said. “We have to remain calm and continue along the same path because there is no time torelax as we must now start thinking about our next game in La Liga.” He added: “We have clear objectives in each tournament. We can play better or we can play worse than tonight but in noway are we going to relax.”
Messi, who was brought down by compatriot Martin Demichelis forthe penalty (which looked like it could have been outside the box), said: “We’ve taken an important step, with the two away goals. They have a great team and [Sergio] KunAguero will be back for the second leg and it’s not decided yet.”