Man City star confident ahead of Champions League clash

‘We’re ready for Barcelona!’ –

Samir Nasri is confident Manchester City have what it takes to claim the initiative in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with Spanish giants Barcelona.

 

The sides meet at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, with the Blues taking on the team who dumped them out at the same stage of last season’s competition.

Nasri felt the Premier League winners paid too much respect to the four-time European champions on that occasion, with Barca securing a 4-1 aggregate win, but the winger believes City are a much tougher proposition this time around.

The Frenchman, speaking at City's pre-match press conference, said: "I think we respected them too much but, at the same time, last year didn't have enough experience to compete with a club like this, with its history.

“They know how to deal with this kind of game. They know how to win the Champions League.

"For us it was the first time that we went through the group stage. I think it was just too much of a big game for us. We were not ready.

"But I think this year is totally different. We know what we are capable of. We are going to respect them as players but we are not going to be scared. We are just going to play and try to win it."

Having been paired again in the last-16, it seems like the perfect time to exact revenge over City’s Champions League exit at the hands of the Catalans, but Nasri disagrees.

The Frenchman said: "No, we want to beat Barcelona because we want to go as far as possible in the Champions League, not because we want revenge.

"For us it is a different game. We are a better team, physically, than last year. Last year before the first game we had a couple of players injured.

"Everything will be different. We have more experience about this competition than last year. We won two difficult games in the group stage. It is just a matter of winning the game, not about revenge."

Manager Manuel Pellegrini also believes City are in a better position to beat Barcelona than they were a year ago.

The Blues boss said: "I think that last year was different to this year.

"We arrived at this stage of the Champions League after playing 19 games in two months, and I don't think it was our best moment.

"But I hope this year we will do it after not playing so many games. I think that our team is in a good moment, although we also recognise we are going to be playing against a very strong team."