FC Barcelona players react to cup victory against Athletic Club

Barça beat Athletic 3-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate to qualify for the Copa del Rey quarter finals. It was the kind of performance that the players will be talking about for many days to come, and we managed to catch the best of the earliest comments from six of them. Here’s a round-up of what was said:

SERGI ROBERTO

“After Athletic scored we returned to our best. Leo Messi was outstanding. He is a master of everything and it’s a pleasure to have him in the team.”

“We tried to get round the back on both wings, and we found some good answers down Neymar’s wing and made the most of them.”

LUIS SUAREZ

“I’m very happy to have qualified, that’s what we wanted to do. I’m going away with the feeling that it was an all-round great game for us.”

“This result will do a lot to lift our morale. It’s what we wanted and it’s what we needed. Now we need to keep working hard to meet our targets.”

“The important thing about my goals is that they help the team. But I’m still really happy to have scored 100 goals for Barça and for all the time I have spent here. It’s what I had always dreamed of.”

“Messi is the best player in the world and he shows that every day. He’s always got a surprise up his sleeve.”

SAMUEL UMTITI

“The team was able to get over the difficult moments and go on to qualify for the next round.”

“We had to score the third to avoid suffering and we managed to keep our cool. We stayed focused and played as a team. The most important thing in football is to win and we did that today.”

RAFINHA

“We never felt in any doubt. When they scored, we just wanted to get one back quick to finish off the game.”

“Opponents tend to keep things very tight at the back against us, so we have to reinvent our game every match.”

“It was an intense match. We got the ball moving round fast, that’s what we do well and that’s how we made it through. We’re happy.”

JASPER CILLESSEN

“I was happy to get to play again and even more so with the win. It was so important to get back to winning ways.”

“You always know that you’re probably not going to have many chances to deal with, but that’s what being a Barça goalie is all about.”

JORDI ALBA

“They’re a top notch opponent. We played well as a team, I think we were phenomenal”.

“We all have to stick together and try to win games by as many goals as we can so that we’re not left hanging on questionable plays.”

“We needed a win today. I hope we’re still in contention come the end of the season.”