- Title: "We are ready for the Champions draw", says confident Barca coach Luis Enrique
- Date: 6th December 2016
- Summary: BARCELONA, SPAIN (DECEMBER 6, 2016) (REUTERS) BARCELONA COACH LUIS ENRIQUE ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM ENRIQUE'S FACE ENRIQUE AND JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, LUIS ENRIQUE, SAYING: "All the players did very well, in this match we had nothing to win but a lot to lose and the team has showed a high level. We had reach our objective and now we are ready for the draw, we are convinced about going on in the tournament." JOURNALISTS ATTENDING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, LUIS ENRIQUE, SAYING: "This is the day we were more accurate with the ball flow, we gave this match the deserved relevance and want to follow on this way of improvement especially at home." ENRIQUE LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH COACH ANDRE SCHUBERT ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM JOURNALISTS ATTENDING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) ANDRE SCHUBERT, BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH COACH, SAYING: "We showed too much respect to Barca, we have been very passive, we were not able to push the rival and instead we defended in the back side, we made things easy for the rival. This happens when you have to face a rival with a lot of quality." ANDRE SCHUBER LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM
- Embargoed: 21st December 2016 23:13
- Keywords: Soccer Champions League Barcelona Borussia Mönchengladbach
- Location: BARCELONA, SPAIN
- City: BARCELONA, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Reuters ID: LVA0015BR0C3J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Barcelona go into the knockout stages of the Champions League full of confidence after beating Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0 at the Nou Camp on Tuesday (December 6).
Arda Turan grabbed a hat-trick to lead Barcelona while Lionel Messi fell short of equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's Champions League group stage goal record.
With Barca already through as Group C winners and the other positions also determined, the main attraction at the Nou Camp was the possibility of Messi matching Ronaldo's haul of 11 goals in the 2013-14 competition.
Things looked promising for the Argentina maestro when he played a one-two with Turan and fired the ball into the corner of the net in the 16th minute.
Messi spurned two chances to make it 2-0 before the break and, in the end, had to be content with 10 goals in Group C.
"All the players did very well, in this match we had nothing to win but a lot to lose and the team has showed a high level. We had reach our objective and now we are ready for the draw, we are convinced about going on in the tournament," told Barca coach Luis Enrique a news conference after the match.
The second half belonged to Turan who was playing instead of the suspended Neymar.
The Turkish striker doubled Barca's lead in the 50th minute, arriving at the far post to nod in Denis Suarez's deflected cross, and netted again in the 53rd as he produced a crisp finish after a cut-back from the lively Aleix Vidal.
Turan completed his first treble for Barca by turning in Paco Alcacer's cross from close range, squeezing the ball past goalkeeper Yann Sommer's near post in the 67th minute.
"This is the day we were more accurate with the ball flow, we gave this match the deserved relevance and want to follow on this way of improvement especially at home," said Enrique.
Barca ended up with 15 points from six matches while Manchester City also went through to the knockout stages on nine.
Moenchengladbach were crushed by this Barca and the result wasn't a surprise for the German side's coach.
"We showed too much respect to Barca, we have been very passive, we were not able to push the rival and instead we defended in the back side, we made things easy for the rival. This happens when you have to face a rival with a lot of quality," said coach Andre Schubert to journalists.
Moenchengladbach qualified for the last 32 of the Europa League by finishing third and Celtic were bottom. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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