Manchester City full-back Pablo Zabaleta says ‘nothing is impossible’ in football ahead of his side’s crunch Champions League showdown with Barcelona.
The Blues go into the second leg of the Last 16 fixture on Wednesday trailing 2-1 from the first leg, yet Argentine international Zabaleta believes the tie is far from over.
“We are up against one of the best teams in the world and it’s not going to be easy, but nothing is impossible in this game,” he told reporters.
“We have to be ready for moments like this and things can change in these type of matches as that’s what football is all about.
“It’s good that this has come just a few days after we lost to Burnley. We need to recover well, go to Barcelona and see what we can do. Hopefully we’ll win but we’ll have to be mentally focused.
“If you look at how Real Madrid played against Schalke and the same with Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, it shows anything can happen.
“That’s why we need to go to Barca with confidence and belief. We’ll be doing our best to win as it’s a competition we’ve been in for the last four years and we want to progress.”
Manuel Pellegrini’s men have won just three of their last nine Premier League games and are now six points adrift of leaders Chelsea, with the Chilean having come under increasing pressure in recent weeks.
“We need to look at ourselves and be self-critical. When things go well everyone enjoys it but sometimes you try to do your best and don’t get results.
“This is not our best. The only way we’ll improve is to work harder during the week. That’s the best way to get results,” explained Zabaleta.
