Martino grateful for Barcelona resolve

Gerardo Martino, Barcelona coach
This clearly hasn't been an easy week. Tonight we faced the best rivals we could have been drawn against and a team who could have gone further in the tournament. The game was one that needed to be overcome. There were moments in which we had control and others in which we struggled. City played more of the game 11 against 11 and they were more dangerous then. [In the first leg] we played for what seemed like an age with a man advantage This was a game in which both sides had chances.

Tonight they came to try and turn the situation around while we didn't allow ourselves to feel comfortable in spite of our advantage. We suffered at times; it was predictable that City would have the ball at certain points. We didn't feel at ease when not in possession and we struggled at dead-ball situations.

Manchester City are not a team you want to be sharing possession with and that's why we played the way we did tonight. It's probable that we will [continue] to play that way when we come up against sides who can work the ball around well.

We not only have to single out the presence of our supporters tonight – their attitude and backing of the team [was also impressive]. We really needed that and I think it was an acknowledgement of these players who have given so much to this team. 

Rubén Cousillas, Manchester City assistant manager 
In the second half we had three or four clear chances with just one striker, so you can't say that if we'd played two strikers we'd have had the same opportunities. We usually play with two forwards but against Barcelona, with such good midfield players, we thought we needed to reinforce the midfield. I don't think it would have changed the result.

Sometimes you score and sometimes you don't. We tried, we had our chances and sometimes you can't convert them. We have to keep working but we're happy with our squad and happy with our performance. Players are human beings, not machines, and you have to go through some low times when you play so many games.

It's too early to know how long [Sergio Agüero] will be out. We don't think it's anything serious. He felt some muscle pain but it was more a precaution than anything else. We'll do some tests to assess the injury.

We played a good game against really good rivals. We had chances to get the first goal at 0-0. They had chances too but we played at a good level. Of course it was difficult with ten men against such a powerful team but we'll go home happy with the performance of the team.