Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola saluted his players' victory over Stuttgart that saw them through to the Champions League quarter-finals.

Guardiola had targeted a place in the last eight of Europe's elite competition to match Manchester United's achievement and had nothing but praise for his team after the match.

Goal.com quoted the coach saying, "Only Manchester United had managed to reach the quarters after being champions and I congratulate my team.

"We've been very intense in all aspects, highly aggressive. We were backed by the love of our fans, we feel strong."

The manager was quick to note that his team will have to pull out another top drawer act if they are to reach the finals in May at the Bernabeu.

"All the teams in the next round are good teams, it will take another two great matches to make that happen [reach the final]," he observed.

Barcelona-Stuttgart Match Report