FCBARCELONA.CAT

21.12.2008 22:02

Piqué: "The second one wasn’t even a foul"

www.fcbarcelona.cat

"It wasn’t even a foul, let alone a yellow card,” said a very unhappy Piqué as he left the dressing room after becoming the first Barça player to be sent off this season.

In spite of getting his marching orders, Piqué thinks that "the most important thing is that it didn’t affect the result and the team always believed in victory. We had some chances in the first half, and even though they went ahead we still scored twice."

All of the players stressed the importance of this win before the Christmas break. Despite being ten points ahead, the players remain cautious and emphasise the need to continue working hard.

Eto'o:

"We’ve got to keep going in the same way as we can still be caught. The best thing is that the number of games left is getting smaller."

"We’re focussed on doing a good job, and we’re pleased to be playing so well."

"If you look at how hard we’ve worked over the last few months and the good atmosphere in the squad, you can see why things are going so well for us."

"The key to having picked up so many points is having a winning mentality. We might lose the odd game but never that mentality."

"We’ve had four important wins against other top sides, but you play more than just four teams in the League."

Xavi:

"We’re pleased with the win because this is a tough ground."

"They like to play the ball around and work hard just like us. That’s why this is a particularly good win."

"We managed to hold onto things when we were down to ten men. We’re chuffed about four wins against four top teams.”

Sergio Busquets:

"The first half was hard fought and their goal spurred us on."

"When we took the lead we controlled the game until Piqué got sent off, which meant we had to pull back and that’s always dangerous."

"Even though we’ve got a good lead there’s still a long way to go."

"Today Henry was magnificent. He’s a great player and he’s working for the whole side.”

Abidal:

"We played well and we’re happy to be in this good position at the end of the year."

"Villarreal are tough opponents and so the win will really gee us up when we come back after the break."

"We might think about the lead but not before today’s game."

Keita:

"We were good enough to score two goals when it mattered and so we’re really pleased."

"We’ve got a good lead but it’s not the end of the season yet. Now we’ll have a rest and recharge our batteries so we can begin next year in the same way."