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Manchester City logo
Champions League | Round-Of-16
Feb 18, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
Barcelona logo

0-2

FT(HT: 0-0)
Messi (54' pen.), Alves (90')

Gerardo Martino: 'Possession will be key'

Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino reiterates the importance of possession in Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first leg against Manchester City.

Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino believes that possession will be key in Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first-leg clash against Manchester City.

The Spanish champions travel to the Etihad Stadium this evening in arguably the tie of the round, with Martino reiterating the importance of controlling the tempo of the match.

"Having possession of the ball will elevate Barca and at the same time, reduce City," he told reporters at a press conference.

"Whoever sees less of the ball will suffer most. You cannot prioritize [the game over a goal]. We need to have possession of the ball as that will elevate us and go against City.

"After doing that, then we can think about trying to grab a goal."

City and Barcelona have never met in a competitive fixture.

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League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Liverpool550015
2Inter Milan541013
3Barcelona540112
4Dortmund540112
5Atalanta532011
6Arsenal531110
7Sporting Lisbon531110
8B. Leverkusen531110
9Brest531110
10Aston Villa531110
11Monaco531110
12Lille531110
13Bayern53029
14Benfica53029
15AC Milan53029
16Atletico53029
17Juventus52218
18Man City52218
19PSV52218
20Celtic52218
21Brugge52127
22Feyenoord52127
23Dinamo Zagreb52127
24Real Madrid52036
25Stuttgart51134
26Sparta Prague51134
27PSG51134
28Shakhtar51134
29Sturm Graz51043
30Girona51043
31Red Star51043
32Salzburg51043
33Bologna50141
34RB Leipzig50050
35Slovan Bratislava50050
36Young Boys50050


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