Manchester City midfielder David Silva believes Lionel Messi must be stopped at all costs if his team are to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The Blues go into the second leg of their clash with the Catalans at the Camp Nou having suffered a 2-1 defeat the Etihad Stadium three weeks ago, yet Spain international Silva believes they still have a chance as long as they contain the Argentine superstar.
“I’m one of those who believe the best way to stop Messi is to stop the others, such as [Andres] Iniesta and Xavi [Hernandez], from playing,” he told the Manchester Evening News.
“You can stop him by working really hard but Messi is capable of deciding a game alone. If you make sure he has less support then so much the better. He is the best and has the best players behind him, but without them he would do nothing.
“If we play as we did in the second half of the first game, not making silly mistakes and getting a bit of luck, we can knock Barca out.
“They are obviously favourites as they have home advantage but there is a game left to play and we’ll be doing our best.
“When I look at City’s team I know we can beat anyone,” he added.
