Manchester City ace Joe Hart has revealed some of the techniques behind his goalkeeping masterclass against Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The England international made a string of brilliant saves to deny
Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez during the last-16 second leg tie,
but could not stop his side slumping to a 1-0 defeat on the night, and
going out of the competition 3-1 on aggregate, with Ivan Rakitic’s
sumptuous lob proving decisive.
Nevertheless, Hart gave an
insight into his fine showing after the game, revealing that he attempts
to unnerve his opponents by rushing them into shooting.
"It
was busy! I just tried to smother them as best I could because I know
full well they're thinking they've got to pass at all times,” he told Sky Sports. “Maybe that's why I tried to rush in for the goal, I thought he took it well.
"My job is to try and rush them, quality players. It's difficult to do
sometimes and I had a little bit of luck on my side. I don't know how
Neymar stayed out in the first minute but that's football, we did our
best to stay in it and it's just unfortunate tonight."
Hart
also frustrated Messi in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, saving a
last minute penalty from the Argentine to give his side a chance of
completing a remarkable comeback in Spain - though ultimately they fell
short.
“It was nice to save a penalty from Messi, I wanted it to count but unfortunately it hasn't which is a shame,” he added.
"I'm in there to make saves, they hit me a lot tonight, I just tried to be big.”
Hart also praised the City fans who made the trip to Camp Nou, and has
promised the club’s support that the team will be “ready” to bounce back
against West Brom this weekend.
“Like I say, we move on, it's
West Brom now and big shout to the fans who came here again, up in the
clouds,” he said. “We really appreciate them and we know we're going to
turn up Saturday afternoon and we'll be ready to go again."
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