"Manchester United" defender Chris Smalling before the match against "Barcelona" said that he knows how to stop Lionel Messi. To some extent, he succeeded. Both players collided in the middle of the first half, and after the contact, L. Messi left the field with a bleeding nose. However, the Argentine could continue the game. According to C. Smalling, L. Messi understood that it was just a playing incident, and the players shook hands after the match. "We talked after the game. We briefly discussed that moment and shook hands. He understood that it was just a playing episode. At first, I didn't even realize that I hurt the opponent so badly. After the match, Suarez also approached me. We had some tough moments with him, but he just shook my hand and wished me good luck. It's nice when we fight on the field, but after the game, respect prevails. We just try to give our all," - C. Smalling told BBC Sport. The Englishman also believes in his team's chances to achieve a positive result in Catalonia. "We know we can do it. If we can play like we did in the second half, when we played more intensively and caused them problems, then we will have a chance. We understood that we can't blindly attack in the second half because there are still second leg matches. We have to make sure that we give our all to have a chance to go further," - added the defender.
