The sporting director of Barcelona, Deco, analyzed the UEFA Champions League draw, after the Catalan team was drawn against Newcastle United in the Round of 16, confirming that the victory achieved by the team at St. James' Park came after great effort from the players, despite the positive result.

Deco said: "We do not choose opponents, no one talked about that, we respect the draw, there were two different teams but Newcastle is a strong team, and their stadium is very tough, we suffered there."

Deco continued in response to being reminded that Barcelona won in Newcastle: "Yes, we won in Newcastle, but also against Paris Saint-Germain we delivered a great match, and in Newcastle, we also delivered one of the best matches of the season, there was a great first half against Paris, if we can maintain this level, we can qualify."

Deco added about the advantage of playing the second leg at home and the difficulty of Newcastle's stadium: "Playing the second leg at our home is an advantage, but if you play the first match seriously, this is a very tough stadium, we won there but we suffered a lot."

Deco continued talking about the possibility of facing Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals and the tight schedule: "That could happen, we have a cup match against them on Tuesday, and if we face them in the Champions League, we will have almost four consecutive matches, I don't remember playing so many matches in such succession, but at this level, everything is difficult, we know the difficulty of the draw, and the confrontation is complicated for everyone, now we must focus on preparing for tomorrow's match against Villarreal."

Finally, Deco said about De Jong's injury: "The injury is muscular in the hamstring, and these injuries usually do not take less than 3 or 4 weeks, I don't think he will return before the international break, so I see it difficult for this round of the tournament."