Messi hails phenomenal Hart

Lionel Messi called Joe Hart's performance "phenomenal" after the Manchester City goalkeeper prevented defeat becoming humiliation against Barcelona on Wednesday night.Barca won 1-0 in the Nou Camp to complete a 3-1 aggregate win over City, but the scoreline would have been much greater but for a string of saves from Hart."He was phenomenal, he stopped everything," Messi said on the Barca website. "We have to congratulate him on a great game because he's a fantastic goalkeeper." Andres Iniesta added: "Hart was key to keeping them in it and was great in one-on-one situations. Outstanding." Coach Luis Enrique was happy to see his side progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but felt the scoreline did not reflect their dominance - with Hart the main reason. "The score could have been a rout," he said. "Hart was incredible but we weren't really on towards the end. "We had a lot of chances, which is not normal in this type of game. We deserved to win by a bigger goal difference." Messi, who turned on the style as he nutmegged both Fernandinho and James Milner during a scintillating display, set up Barca's goal as his cross picked out the unmarked Ivan Rakitic in the 31st minute. Sergio Aguero had a chance to make a game of it late on, but saw his 78th minute penalty saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. "Mascherano and Rafinha both told me to which side Aguero was going to shoot," the German goalkeeper said."One said left, the other said right. In the end, I just guessed, but I'm happy they tried to help." Barca will now turn their attention to El Clasico as the Spanish league leaders prepare to take on second-placed Real Madrid at the Nou Camp on Sunday evening. "We're back at a high level and we have to keep it going as long as possible." Messi added as he looked ahead to the match. "We have a lot of respect for this game. They're never in bad shape; they're still dangerous, with impressive individual players and we need to respect more than ever . They are very strong and we have to play our game and, with the help of our fans, try to overcome them."

Source: PA