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Strategist Pep Guardiola praised his players after their victory in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 match.
Away from home, Barcelona beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 and almost secured their spot in the quarter-finals.
"This is the Champions League, and we had the task to travel to Germany and play against a club that practically eliminated our well-known Valencia," said the coach. "We are very satisfied with what we accomplished tonight. We took a step towards the next stage."
Guardiola had only good words for the outstanding Argentine Messi, who had faced criticism for several goalless matches: "During my playing career, I rarely scored, so I can't speak from experience, but strikers need to score. Messi has no problems - he scored a fantastic goal, created attacks. Once again, he proved his abilities, which are very important for the team."
Meanwhile, Bayer coach Robin Dutt did not give up on the possibility of reaching the next stage: "During halftime, I asked the players to take initiative and play actively. I think in the second half, we caused problems for our opponents.
"For 15 minutes, we demonstrated a really good football. Of course, it will be even harder in Catalonia, but we still have hope."
