Champions League Round of 16
Two English clubs were on the pitch yesterday for the return of the Champions League in the year 2018. The Premier’s League leader did not wait long to dismantle Basel’s defense. At the break the score was 3-0 and the Citizens would end up winning 4-0.
For the Spurs, the game started horrendously being in a 2-0 hole after less than 10 minutes. But Pochettino’s men found the response as the game continued. At 2-1, Juventus was awarded a penalty that was missed by Higuaín and this was probably one of the key moments of the match. The second half was dominated by Tottenham and they leveled before the game ends. The Spurs have now the edge on Juventus that was missing superstar Dybala.
Manchester City Coach Guardiola comments:
“Four-zero away – it’s amazing result, but the Champions League is 180 minutes in total. Vincent came back; Delph came back… a lot of players are back from injury. Gabriel is coming back soon. Apart from Mendy, we will have all the squad soon.
We are almost there in the quarter-finals. I’m not saying it’s done but we’ve had an amazing result. We defended the long balls quite well, but we were clinical today.
My experience in the UCL last 16 is it is only over after the second game.Of course, we will be focused against Basel at the Etihad, but with Arsenal and Chelsea to play it’s important to be focused there, too.
If we are able to go to the quarterfinals, that’s better than last season. It’s not easy to keep the level we have been playing at, but we did it. Overall, I’m delighted. Now we prepare for the next game against Wigan on Monday.
We are still in February. In the Premier League we are in an amazing position, 16 points in front. But nothing is won yet. Like we said in the beginning, game by game. We try to arrive focused and win the games.”
Tottenham Hotspur Coach Pochettino comments how on the team responded after a horrible start:
“To keep calm, to think and (show) character, that’s most important. The team started to play, started to enjoy playing their football and that was the key.
From the beginning, difficult, emotional, a little upset, angry but at the end, I enjoyed it a lot.In the second half we dominated, played football and we were capable of winning the game. The team deserves full credit, I congratulate the players.
We played some amazing football. I’m so pleased with the character and personality. The players were fantastic. We scored twice against a team that is always difficult to break down. The team deserves a lot of praise.”
