Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano has insisted that the Blaugrana will have to be at their best in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Valencia if they are to reach the final.


Javier Mascherano

Pep Guardiola's men were held to a 1-1 draw in the away game against los Che, and Mascherano feels that the tie remains wide open despite having home-ground advantage in today's return clash.

"The semi-final is still wide open. And with the teams level on aggregate, people are a lot more cautious than they were before the second leg against Real Madrid, when everybody was sure we had already qualified," Mascherano was quoted as saying on the Barcelona website.

"We knew that Madrid would fight, would throw everything at us, and the same will happen with Valencia, who want to reach the final as much as we do.

"We are going to have to maintain the same attitude."