Champions League: Pep Guardiola confident of Barcelona comeback
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38605 Manager Josep Guardiola believes his side will bounce back from their Champions League Round of 16 first leg defeat at the hands of Arsenal. The Gunners beat the reigning Spanish champions 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday the 16th of February.
Though Arsenal will carry a vital one-goal lead to the Nou Camp for the second leg of the fixture, Guardiola believes his men are still favourites to go through to the quarter finals of the competition.
Guardiola alluded to the fact that Barcelona were unable to play their natural passing game for long stretches of the match at the Emirates Stadium. This was most notable during the opening 15 minutes of the game, where the Catalans found it difficult to
string more than two passes together.
Speaking on the club’s official website, the Barcelona manager said, “I am upset that we lost the game, but there is still the second leg to turn things around. I don't know how far we’ll get, but we’ll be ourselves.”
Guardiola was gracious in defeat, giving Arsenal credit for a brilliant performance. He said, “I think we created more chances this time, but they position themselves well and are very good on the counter attack. They are very quick at using space. All we
can do is congratulate our opponent.”
Guardiola claimed that things will be different when Arsenal come to the Nou Camp for the return leg. His faith is not unsubstantiated, seeing as how the Spanish giants brushed aside the Gunners 4-1 here last year.
He said, “I have faith in my players. They have achieved too much in a short space of time for me not to have faith in them.”
Guardiola has promised a “spectacular return match”, and it looks like we will get exactly that. Arsenal will take a vital one-goal lead to the Nou Camp on 8th March for the second leg of the fixture. But with the deadly form Barcelona show at home, the
Gunners will have their work cut out for them if they want to make the current lead count.
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