Barcelona’s legend Xavi stated that he is extremely happy that the club managed to seal qualification to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after the 4-1 aggregate win over Manchester City. This was seen as a tough match for the club given that City have spent huge amounts of money in improving the squad. As a result, they possess the likes of Yaya Touré and Sergio Aguero. They are also competing for the Premier league title, which is one of the toughest in the world.
Even though Barcelona managed a comfortable 2-0 win in the first leg thanks to goals from Lionel Messi and Dani Alves, there was always the possibility of a comeback from City in the second leg. This was because of City’s attacking prowess this campaign, which is on course to making them the leading goal scorer in Premier league history with more than 103 goals. As in the first leg, Messi opened the scoring in the second half. Defender Alves got the second for Barcelona before Pablo Zabaleta was sent off for City late on in the encounter.
Xavi said after the match that he is happy that Barcelona have shown their strength against one of the top teams, but feels that tougher tests await the club in the quarter-finals.
“There were moments tonight when we were really flying. This is a competition which makes us very proud and people should be happy we are in the quarter-finals once again after a really intelligent performance. In fact we’ve produced a great knockout performance against a great rival like City. Despite the 2-0 first-leg score, this was a really open tie and I think the public must have seen a pretty great spectacle,” said the midfielder, who has been widely linked with a move to MLS in the summer.