FCBARCELONA.CAT

23.02.2010 23:57

Xavi: “I felt fine”

www.fcbarcelona.cat

Although he was doubtful until the last moment, Xavi played the full 90 minutes against Stuttgart and afterwards reckoned: “I felt fine before the game, I spoke to Pep about it and in the end I played okay”.

Although the team were against the ropes in the first half before coming away with a draw, Xavi was optimistic about the second leg: “we weren’t too good in the first half and we lost a lot of possession, but that didn’t happen after the break. I’m positive about the result and we know we can finish it off at the Nou Camp”.

Below are some post match reactions from the other players:

Iniesta:

“We knew it would be a tough game, it’s never easy to play here, but we came back and scored after struggling in the first half and that’s important”.

“We lost possession a few times in the first half in dangerous areas and that hurt us. We’ve got 90 minutes ahead of us and though we may be favourites, we have to stay focussed”.

Ibrahimovic:

“We controlled the game in the second half, created chances and most importantly got the goal. Now we have to work hard on preparing for the second leg”.

“The ref missed a hand ball in the box”.

“It’s always important to score or set one up for somebody else, but the most important thing is to play well with rest of the team and adapt to the game that’s being played”.

“We didn’t play well in the first half, but we improved after the break and got the goal – I think a draw is a good result for us”.

Messi:

“I can’t remember exactly what the boss said at half time, but we knew we had to change things if we were to avoid a defeat”.

“I don’t know what went wrong. It’s true that recently we’ve not been playing the same football we are used to, but now is the key moment and we have to get back to that level”.

“We knew it was going to be that kind of game and we come away with a draw and a goal which is important at this level”.

“We’ll have to play better in the return leg than we did tonight”.

Milito:

“They pressured us and played a good game. We found it hard to move the ball around as we normally do and we suffered with that “.

“Things changed in the second half and it’s not a bad result in the end”.

“Pep made some changes at half time and things certainly improved”.

“I’m very happy. It’s always good to play in this type of game, though I’d prefer not to have to do so because a teammate got injured”.

Márquez:

“The change was just to be on the safe side. I got a knock on my left leg, but that’0s all it was”.

“You have to give them their due, they are strong and they closed us down – I couldn’t fine Ibra or Leo coming deep and they closed down the space”.

“We shouldn’t worry – the team know that sometimes things don’t work out as we want, but we have to make an effort and keep working hard”.

“Cacau created problems for us. They were fast and hit us hard down the right. We suffered for the first 25 minutes, but finally we controlled them”.

“I feel good and I’m improving with every game”.

Valdés:

“A game of two halves! We suffered at the start, but gradually improved and controlled the game in the second half. It’s a good result for us and we’ll see how the second leg pans out”.

Piqué

“We found it hard in the first half, they pressured us a lot and the fans were behind them, but our goal gave us a lot more confidence”.

“Playing at such a high level for a whole year is impossible – the same thing happened to us last year . There’s always going to be a dip at some point, but the team will get their confidence and bounce back”.

“We humans and it’s difficult to always be at the top level. Pep has made it clear that if we continue like this we will be out of the competition. We have to push forward. Scoring away from home is important for the return game”.

“I try and do my job to help the team. We know we have to score, win and finish off the tie”.