Guardiola, Goncharenko bewitched by Messi magic

Viktor Goncharenko, BATE coach
We played against the best team in the world. We were a bit bound by fear, made stupid mistakes, but it was a great experience. We saw how to play football at first hand, how to work the ball, how to tackle opponents and so on.

I can't blame my team, despite the ugly result. Our opponents' name weighed heavily on the players, who failed to show their full potential. If we had a handful of matches like this during the season, it would have been much easier for us. As for Barcelona, they showed extreme pace and we just couldn't cope with it.

Josep Guardiola, Barcelona coach
We studied our opponents beforehand and because of that we produced a good performance. We used the experience gained from past encounters such as the one away to Rubin Kazan [in 2009]. We were aware that things could have gone the way they have in past games of this nature. We had to do a lot of running but were at the same level tonight as in our first group game against Milan.

If Messi has reached the figure he has at 24 [going level with László Kubala in second on Barcelona's all-time list with 194 competitive goals for the club], imagine what he has left to achieve? When he passes César Rodríguez [No1 on the list with 235 goals] I hope he doesn't consider retiring. I never saw Kubala play but I know that on the basis of reputations like his, the Camp Nou was built because [former ground] Les Corts was considered too small – that says everything.

We have performed excellently in three Champions Leagues campaigns, winning two and reaching the semi-final of another but away from home we haven't had very good results. I give a lot of weight to tonight because we are top of the group and after the draw against Milan you don't know what to expect. It's never easy playing an attacking game against a side that is so closed; they are waiting for you at the back. They can make you lose your patience. Our two first goals changed everything.