Andres Iniesta has claimed that Barcelona “will need to be at 200 percent” if they are to bypass Manchester City in the Champions League last 16.
The Catalans head into Wednesday’s second leg at Camp Nou with a 2-1 away lead from the match in England a fortnight ago, but the midfielder insists that will not be enough on its own for his side to book their place in the quarter-finals.
“They’re a very dangerous rival. They have players in attack who can decide a game, and that says it all [about them],” he said at a Press conference.
“At all levels, we’ll need to be at 200 percent. We can’t make the mistake of thinking the [first-leg] result gives us guarantees or that we should wait and see what happens.
“We have to take control of the game and let them chase us. At the moment, the match against City is more important than the Clasico.
“The general mood of the team is positive. When the situation isn’t good, neither is the team’s mood.
“Now, we’re in a very good run of form but face the most beautiful and difficult part of the season.
“We reached the Copa [del Rey] final and know that the Champions League demands a lot of us.
“Every detail counts and we must give a complete performance against City in order to win the game.
“At the end of the day, it’s difficult to predict what will happen, but we are on track to meet our objectives [this season].
“We’ll fight on all fronts until the end [of the season], but that doesn’t guarantee anything. We‘re well prepared for [Wednesday’s] match and hope it’ll go our way.
“We mustn’t confuse the fact of feeling good [with complacency]. City possess so much danger, so we must do everything right.
“There’s no better way to approach the game against Madrid than having won [against City] and closing in on our objective of [winning] the Champions League.
“A Clasico is unpredictable, so you can’t say whether one team is better or worse than the other.”
