Not even the disappointment of losing two home goals to Olympique Lyonnais en route to qualifying for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals could douse the exuberance of the FC Barcelona players following a 5-2 second-leg victory at Camp Nou which completed a 6-3 aggregate success.
Great prospects
What had been a procession in the first half thanks to an outstanding individual performance from Thierry Henry and four goals in 18 blistering minutes became a much harder-fought second period as Lyon drew inspiration from the responses of Jean II Makoun and Juninho Pernambucano. But Josep Guardiola's players remained almost awestruck by the power of their own performance and predicted that great things lie ahead for them in this competition. Brazilian full-back Daniel Alves said: "I think if we continue to play like this it is going to be almost impossible to beat us. Everyone around us seemed to be predicting that in Lyon we had an easy draw, but our players were fully aware of how difficult they would be to beat. They gave us a very difficult game, but we put on an exceptionally good first half.
Decisive stage
"I'm happy for two main reasons," added the 25-year-old. "Firstly we've achieved our key objective which was to make sure we made it to the quarter-finals. Secondly as soon as we arrived at the part of the season when the matches are decisive we've begun to play at a very good level. Even in games which we haven't won we have shown eagerness to play and no complacency at all." Perhaps the hurdle which the 2006 UEFA Champions League winners must still overcome is their defensive fallibility, having conceded eleven times in the competition compared to the three allowed by holders Manchester United FC. Former Old Trafford defender Gerard Piqué accepted the point, but remained buoyant after his team's five-star attacking display.
Best performance
"Our first-half performance was one of the best 45 minutes I can remember seeing from any team," said the Catalan. "I'm very proud of that and I know that the people who come to see us expect to see goals. But it's true that as a defender you go home wishing you had also kept a clean sheet. However, I'm happy with the quality of our play and the five goals we've scored against a difficult opponent." For Alves the draw, in Nyon on 20 March, holds no fears despite the ominous presence of four English Premier League clubs.
English threat
"To win the Champions League you have to play against and beat the very best," he said. "The best teams, like the English quartet, are always in this latter stage. But I'm certain all the other clubs are unhappy that Barcelona are through to the quarter-finals because we will be a dangerous rival for any club. We'll face the draw we get and show what we're capable of."
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