Iniesta: Messi will make City suffer

Andres Iniesta believes that Lionel Messi could make the difference for Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie with Manchester City at Camp Nou.

The Catalans defend a 2-1 lead from the first leg of the tie and Iniesta is hopeful Messi can build on his superb form from 2015 on Wednesday.

“Leo Messi is a unique player, one of the few players in the world who can win you a game on his own,” Iniesta said at a press conference.

“It is always an advantage to have a player of his quality. We hope he will continue his fine form in the match against City. Messi is a guarantee.”

The Spain international then went on to stress that Barcelona cannot afford to think about Sunday’s Liga Clasico match against Real Madrid just yet as City are a team that should not be underestimated.

“It’s true we have an important match on Sunday against a direct opponent, but we can’t think about what we have ahead of us further than Wednesday’s game. We have a good result from the first leg but City have enough good players to turn that result around. City is a dangerous opponent. They have forwards who can decide the match at any moment and that says it all.

“We have to be 200 per cent focused and we can’t make the mistake of thinking that the first leg result guarantees success. We have to take initiative, make the most of the chances we have to score and see how it all pans out. When the result is in your favour obviously you don’t have to take as many risks, but we will see how the match goes. You can’t predict what will happen. Our only objective is to play a good match and to qualify for the next round.”

Iniesta also had his say on his side’s ambition to win the treble and insisted that they must take things one step at a time.

“We don’t meet and talk about winning the treble. We know individually how we feel and what chances we have. We know we have a good chance to fight for every title until the end but that’s no guarantee and we can’t get distracted thinking about that.

“At the moment the team is doing very well and that has been the case for some time now. We are approaching the good part of the season, we are in the Copa Del Rey final – and in the Champions League we know every little detail is very important. You can’t predict what will happen, but we are in a position where we can succeed in our objectives.”

Goal.com

Maher Taki