The Catalan manager refused to relax in the crunch UEFA Champions League second leg affair despite claiming an impressive 1-3 away win in the first leg.
Barcelona take on the challenge of Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League return leg with a three away goals advantage, as the continental competition resumes after the international break.
With progress to the quarter-finals for Barcelona almost secure, La Blaugrana manager, Pep Guardiola, is wary of his German counterparts.
Ahead of the Camp Nou fixture, Guardiola was full of praise for the Bundesliga side, highlighting their resilience in his pre-match press conference. The former Spanish international stated that Barcelona can ill afford to relax against a club of Bayer’s
pedigree.
"But what concerns me is their speed.”
"We have to control the match and make sure they don't pick up speed."
"However, while we dominated Leverkusen in the first half, they were very strong in the second half - and very fast.”
"Leverkusen never give up. It looks like they’re dead and suddenly they hit back.
"So, they have their chances of qualifying, of course they do."
In their previous Round-of-16 encounters, the outfit from Catalonia had the difficult task of overcoming defeats and even results.
Reflecting on their change of fortunes from the prior editions, Guardiola stated that he is please with their first leg efforts and wants the side to continue in similar mould.
“Recently we have gone into the second legs of the round of 16 after a draw or a defeat."
"This season we are in a better position than in previous seasons, so I imagine you won't be asking me many questions about the game tomorrow because people think it's done against Leverkusen.”
The Catalan club have already lifted three trophies in the ongoing season and can potentially add two more to the list by the end of the season. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 find themselves in the final of the Copa del Rey and alongside Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, the Catalan
giants are also the favourites for UEFA Champions League glory.
However, chances of defending their La Liga crown seems a distant possibility as Los Blancos are currently leading the Primera Division rankings with a 10-point advantage.
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