Barca deserved win, says Mascherano

Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano believes his side thoroughly deserved their Champions League round-of-16 win over Arsenal on Tuesday.

Trailing 2-1 after a first-leg loss at the Emirates, Barca hit back hard at the Nou Camp to take a 3-1 win and a 4-3 aggregate victory to book a spot in the quarter-finals.

The match changed complexion in the 56th minute, when Gunners striker Robin van Persie was sent off for a second bookable offence – a decision that left Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger fuming – yet Mascherano believes his side deserved to progress.

“We were the team who went out looking for the win, looking to make the difference,” the Argentina midfielder said.

“Even though it ended 2-1, it could have been 5-1 or 6-1.”

“The chances that we had were clear, and although Wenger has every right to think what he wants, the statistics and highlights show that it would have been very unfair for Barcelona not to go through last night.”

“We didn’t receive one shot on goal, so how the game went is more than clear. Wenger also know how the game went, but obviously it was a tough defeat. Nobody likes to be eliminated.”

“I think that the game was won by how the team played, not by any specific incident.”

“I am always pleased with the job done by the team, more than anything individual, and Barcelona didn’t let Arsenal breathe. This was the key to getting through to the quarter finals.”

Despite his insistence the victory was earned through an even team performance, Mascherano saved special praise for Argentine marvel Lionel Messi, who opened the scoring with a sublime effort and sealed the win from the penalty spot with 20 minutes to play.

‘What Leo is doing now isn’t normal, because he is the only one doing it,” Mascherano said.

“At the moment, whatever he does seems normal. It is a time that will go down in history, and I think that he is writing his own history.”

“I hope that he continues like this for a long time to come, for our benefit.”