Neymar clear about FC Barcelona's Champions League objective
PATRICIA PÉREZ
The Brazilian striker and UEFA man of the match praises Iniesta for set up on evening's first goal
Players not lost on significance of reaching another semi-final
FC Barcelona's Neymar Jr. was named man of the match after his two goals gave Barça a commanding 5–1 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain and a coveted ticket to the semi-finals. But despite playing such a the decisive role, the Brazilian striker wanted to deflect attention and congratulate "the whole team for the job they did." He also wanted to give special thanks to Andrés Iniesta, who set up the first goal of the match: "The play he made was fantastic. He left me all alone. I just had to get by the keeper and knock it in."
In addition, for Neymar, FC Barcelona played with excellent rhythm and were able to play their game. He was all optimism: "We're alive and in good shape in all three competitions. I'm very happy with the season I'm having, but even more so with my teammates. We have to keep doing the same thing to reach our objective — to get to the Champions League final."
Here are highlights of what some of the other players had to say after Barça punched their ticket to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League:
Andrés Iniesta
"The credit goes to everyone."
"Another semi-final berth is spectacular. We're practically required to get there, but we want to get past the semis."
Javier Mascherano
"Our idea was always to win the game from the first minute, even though the result was already in our favour. It was the only way."
"It's important for the Club to be in the semi-finals. It may sound easy, but it isn't. We're two games from another Champions League final and hopefully the next round is ours."
"I think the mind-set with which we faced the game was correct. If they scored first, they'd have gotten back in it. To avoid that, we had to attack, and that was how we avoided the risks."
Sergi Roberto
"The two goals from Neymar settled us down. But it was also thanks to the score in the first leg."
"We played well in both games, and now we are in the semi-finals, which is what we wanted."
"Playing with these teammates makes everything easier."