Guardiola doesn't want to face Milan

Posted Tuesday, March 13, 2012 by ESPN

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola believes that of all the strong teams to reach the quarter-finals, he wishes to avoid AC Milan after meeting them in the group stages.

Barcelona were rampant against Bayer Leverkusen last week with Lionel Messi grabbing a record five-goal haul. They have been tipped by many as likely to retain their Champions League trophy but the likes of arch rivals Real Madrid, Napoli and Chelsea will look to scupper their chances.

The Catalan outfit has already scored 30 goals in the Champions League this season, twice as many as AC Milan and they have attained an impressive overall figure of 69% of ball possession so far.

Nevertheless, Guardiola is hopeful of avoiding Milan when the draw for the quarter-finals takes place on Friday. His team had faced Milan in the group stages and eked out a draw and a 3-2 win at Milan.

"You have to play against the best teams [in the Champions League]," Guardiola told Spanish newspaper AS.

"All teams have their strong and weak points."

"If anything, Milan, who we have played against already this season, we would prefer to not meet them.

"In the end the draw will decide."

Barcelona won against Racing Santander on Sunday night with two goals by Lionel Messi. They are currently 10 points behind Real and the Champions League, alongside the Copa del Rey for which they will play Athletic Bilbao in the final, is their only hope of winning any silverware this term.