Yaya Toure has said Manchester City aim to be ‘one of the big fish’, ahead of their hotly-anticipated clash with Barcelona.
City managed qualified from the group stages for the first time in their history and are set to battle the Catalan giants in what is expected to be an epic match-up.
Former Barcelona star Yaya Toure has claimed City hope to emulate the success of his former club, starting by beating them in Tuesday night’s Chapions League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
He told ESPN: “We don’t want to put pressure on ourselves because clubs like Madrid and Barcelona have a big history. We want to be at that level. Our goal is to become one of the big fish.”
The Blues rediscovered their goal-scoring form, which saw Manuel Pellegrini’s men dominate Chelsea in the FA Cup over the weekend, winning 2-0 to advance to the quarter-finals.
In the post-match press conference, the Chilean alluded to the magnitude of the midweek clash. He said: “Its two good teams coming together. It’s good for the fans, it’s good for everyone. I love football, I love good matches.
“I don’t have any fear about playing Barcelona, because this team has got to continue to develop the mentality to play against important, important teams, whether that’s in the last 16, the quarter-final.
“I hope we see a very good match on Tuesday and I hope we can win at home.
“It’s impossible to avoid Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich if you want to continue in the Champions League. So in one moment you must play against them. We play them in the last 16, so let’s see what we can do.”
The former Los Blancos manager will know all about Tuesday’s opponents and will have a point to prove – after losing the Spanish title to Barcelona in 2010.
During a post-match interview Pellegrini remained coy on whether Fernandinho will feature, as the Brazilian makes up a vital midfield partnership with Yaya Toure.
The 28-year-old has played a crucial role in balancing City’s attack minded team this season, and his partnership with Toure has allowed the African player of the year to embark on his trademark galloping runs.
Fernandinho returned to training this week after suffering a thigh injury which has seen him side-lined since the end of January.
Pellegrini added: “Maybe if he worked [on Sunday] in a normal way and Monday he is 100% fit and he does not have any scare about his injury, we will see if he can play.”
However, there is a lot less hope for City’s top scorer Sergio Aguero as the striker is still suffering from a hamstring injury.
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