FCBARCELONA.CAT

14.02.2010 23:59

Guardiola: "We have not played our game"

Vanessa Forns

Pep Guardiola was keen to congratulate Atlético de Madrid on their win against FC Barcelona on Sunday evening, but also highlighted his side's problems at finding their rhythm and creating chances.

The Blaugrana boss praised Los Colchoneros' performance and was gracious after seeing the visitors taste defeat in the league for the first time this term. "We were not able to play our game and we could not gain the control we wanted to allow us to perform as we would have liked," he explained. "We are always a team that creates chances but today we faced a team that did some great work in Atlético."

"The team gave everything"

"We gave it absolutely everything, but we have not been good enough when moving the ball around," he continued. "There was no continuity in our play. We lost the ball because we were not well positioned. But we tried hard and kept going to try and find our game and that is how we have to keep going."

Keita’s injury

On Seydou Keita's early exit Guardiola continued: "He slipped over and picked up the injury. It is just one more problem, but Pedro has done very well. These things happen during a season and we shoujld be capable of bouncing back."

Two points clear

Barça stayed out in front at the top of the table, but Real Madrid reduced the gap to two points. "Now they depend on themselves and so do we," the coach continued. "There is a long way to go in the league and nothing can be predicted. The pressure we feel is what we put on ourselves to ensure that we do things well. We are always looking ahead and now we are focussed on playing Racing."

Xavi knock

Bojan Krkic went on against Atlético to replace Xavi and Guardiola explained his decision. "He had a muscle problem at half-time," he said. "We wanted to have a bit more depth by using Bojan."

Jeffren and Bartra

Dani Alves' injury meant that Jeffren Suárez was asked to play at right-back while Marc Bartra went on for him in the second period. "The two played very well and want to congratulate them for their performances," Guardiola added.