Manchester City F.C. manager Manuel Pellegrini praised La Liga leaders Barcelona for its UEFA Champions League win over the English Premier League outfit on Wednesday night.
The Chilean supremo accepted a 1-0 defeat at the hands of a ‘better’ Barcelona, who knocked out City out of the Champions League for the second consecutive season.
A magnificent performance made the score much more reasonable than it should have (or could have) been. Nevertheless, City are out of the UCL, and Barca are moving on to the quarter-finals.
“I think we lost against a better team without doubt,” Pellegrini told Sky Sports.
“Lionel Messi is very difficult to contain. Maybe we didn’t play so well in the first half but we improved in the second and we took risks. We needed to score two goals and we thought it might happen had we scored the penalty. That was a very important moment because we had 15 minutes more to play.”
Enrique happy with form ahead of El Clasico
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is looking forward to Sunday’s El Clasico following his side’s impressive 1-0 win over Manchester City at the Camp Nou in midweek.
The Catalans defeated the Premier League champions with ease, advancing 3-1 on aggregate, to book their place in the final eight of the Champions League.
Croatia international Ivan Rakitic netted the match-winner for the hosts, but star man Lionel Messi stole the show, subsequently earning the utmost praise from his manager.
“What Leo Messi is able to do is already known by everyone,” Luis Enrique told reporters.
“He is the best player in the world, no doubt. Not just nowadays but also in history. Obviously he gives us a lot, we’ve never hidden from this. It’s a pleasure to have him at our club.
“Nevertheless, we need a solid team behind him in order to lift trophies. So we have to keep working as a team, something which I think we are already doing. I would praise every single player who has played tonight, even the players who have not played because they have been supporting the team.”
Regarding their English counterparts, Enrique added: “We expected the City we saw. It was a game with a lot of chances, and we achieved our objective, which was to win the game and get through to the quarters.
“We had some good chances tonight, and go into Sunday’s game with Real Madrid in good shape.
“La Liga will not be decided after the Clasico. In a game of this nature, you cannot tell who is the favorite.”
Barcelona are priced at 11/4 to win the Champions League this term.
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