23.01.2010 23:01
Vanessa Forns
Following the win in Valladolid, boss Pep Guardiola reminded his players that there was still plenty of the season still to play, but admitted: “runs like this show the true nature of the team”.
Although he expressed himself happy with the way his team had performed in Valladolid, Pep also
stressed that the unbeaten run was nothing more than an “anecdote - there are 19 games still
to play and that’s a lot of points”.
Stability
Guardiola congratulated his team on their run though and claimed: “runs like
this show the true nature of the team and that’s been really stable. For me, the most
important was seeing that we were prepared to be aggressive, we want to open the game up and create
chances, that’s the way we played last year and that’s how we are continuing this time
round”.
In the team’s own hands
Barca are now eight points clear of second place Madrid, who play on
Sunday night, but Guardiola was as always cautious: “there are no insuperable distances. We
were 12 points ahead of them last year at this stage and we needed to go to the Bernabeu to ensure
the title. I still don’t think the difference is an issue, there’s plenty of games left
to play. How we get through now is up to us, not any other team”.
Hard place to win at
As to the Valladolid game, Guardiola reckoned his team had been: “daring and very
good”, with the first two goals: “changing the game round – the players felt more
comfortable. We knew from last year that Valladolid would press us hard, but I think we played
well. It’s always hard to come here and win”.
Valdés
Guardiola paid particular praise to Victor Valdes, who made some important stops,
particularly when the game was still goalless: “Valdés is enjoying some very good form.
He’s really growing as a keeper. He saved us at the start of the Tenerife game and he did it
again tonight”.
To view this content you need the latest version of the Flash Player