Alves glad as Barcelona patience pays off

Patience paid off for FC Barcelona in their UEFA Champions League triumph at Manchester City FC on Tuesday night according to Javier Mascherano and Daniel Alves, scorer of the late second goal in the 2-0 round of 16 first-leg success. The way to Barcelona's first victory in Manchester at the fifth time of asking was paved by Martín Demichelis's sending-off and Lionel Messi's penalty opener. "We stayed patient and it helped us create chances and get the goals," noted Daniel Alves.

Javier Mascherano, Barcelona defender
We knew it would be quite an even game. In the first half, we had control of the game – perhaps we didn't have a lot of chances but we knew that as time went on, things would start going for us, and in the second half, the penalty and sending-off changed everything. Going from 0-0 to 1-0 and with an extra man is a big advantage.

It's important to have won 2-0 but doesn't mean too much – there are still 90 minutes to play and especially against opponents like Manchester City who can cause you problems at any moment. They have players with great scoring ability so we have to play in the same way in Barcelona to get through. It is a great result for us. Scoring away from home and winning is important but we can't say anything more at this stage.

Daniel Alves, Barcelona full-back
I think the patience we showed [was important]. Our opponents played well and had a lot of quality, and you have to be careful because it is a difficult competition and you're competing against the best teams. But we stayed patient and it helped us create chances and get the goals and come away happy.

I am pleased [to score] because my job is to help the team and do as good a job as possible, and when things work out well, you're always glad. It increased our advantage and our chances of qualifying. We knew it would be difficult but we're going home delighted with the job done.