Pablo Zabaleta says Manchester City "need a perfect game to beat Barcelona"

How good does Manchester City have to be to beat Barcelona? Too good.

City defender Pablo Zabaleta spoke to the press ahead of Wednesday's massive UEFA Champions League match at Camp Nou, and the Argentinean was very respectful of Barça, and knows how tough the game will be.

For Zaba, the only way City can beat the Blagurana is to have a perfect performance, knowing to suffer and being the best version of themselves. Pep Guardiola will face his former team for the first time as City manager, and Zabaleta thinks that can be a positive for the Sky Blues.

“I think Barca have been dominating Europe for so many years, they have experience and they have four or five of best players in the world in different positions. You need to perform at the same level (as them), you cannot make mistakes and you must take opportunities.

"You need a perfect game to beat Barcelona, that is the key. You don’t win here easily, there will be moments you will suffer - hopefully not too much.

“We’ve got a new manager with a new style of play. We played a few times against Barca and always we couldn’t beat them, but always there’s a chance with a new manager.

“At the moment we’ve been playing good football and we’re coming here to play our style, not to change anything because they are great... not that we don’t have respect. But we will try and play the game to win.”

Source: ManCity.com