Barcelona defeated Arsenal 3-1 at the Nou Camp to go through to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, winning the tie 5-1 on aggregate. While the scoreline suggests a comfortable victory, Barcelona were on tenterhooks after Mohammed Elneny made it 1-1 for Arsenal after Neymar’s opener. Luis Suarez scored an incredible volley to calm Barcelona nerves, while Lionel Messi finished things off with a late chipped goal.
Here’s how the managers, players and pundits reacted:
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique:
“Getting into the quarter-finals nine straight times means this club is doing well. It’s due to the types of players that come up through the academy and the ones we sign. They make us proud to be Barça fans. I don’t think any team has ever done that.”
“We are delighted that Messi, Suarez and Neymar are our forwards. This tie meant one of the two possible candidates for the title would go out, which is good for us. Now we wait for the draw. The only team I would not like to get is Barca,” Enrique joked.
When asked about the Premier League’s dismal European results, one that was compounded by Arsenal’s loss, Enrique revealed his puzzlement, saying “They are not getting results you might think, for the signings they make. It's something to analyse.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:
“I’m pleased with the performance. The quality of our game was good. The performance shows our season is not over. I am disappointed with the result but we played a team with the best three strikers I’ve seen. From nothing they can create a chance. You must admire art. They have two or three players with the ability to transform normal life into art. Of course for me it is suffering as well but it is exceptional what Messi does.”
“I felt from the bench at 1-1 they were wobbling a little bit, feeling insecure, but we could not take our chance to score a second goal. It was a big turning point at 1-1. Had we scored the second goal it could have caused a sensation tonight. Any one of their front three can score at any time. Over the two games, if you look at the danger situations we have created, we have created many.”
“We produced a quality performance against maybe the best team in the Europe at the moment, well done to them.”
Barcelona striker Luis Suarez:
“We played a complete game, they complicated the match by getting to 1-1.”
However, Suarez soon calmed Barcelona’s nerves with a wonderful volley, although he was modest about it, saying “I don't know how I hit that ball, but I scored. We needed to control the game when it was 2-1 because we knew about their physical condition and because they had the result going against them, we knew they were going to go and take the game to us.”
“In the end we proved we are strong here and made home advantage count.”
Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck:
“We had a plan to try and get through to the next round. It's a difficult occasion for us but unfortunately we couldn't get through. We had a couple of opportunities where we should have done better with it and with their quality that they've got they're very clinical. There's a lot to be learned. This [Camp Nou] is a place where you want to leave your mark and there were certain occasions where we could have done things better. It's disappointing.”
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