FCBARCELONA.CAT

17.04.2010 23:34

Xavi: “They man marked very tight”

www.fcbarcelona.cat

It was a typically intense derby game and Xavi explained after the game: “they man marked very tight and stopped us playing our game. That’s the way they play against us, though not against other teams”.

“We tried, but it just didn’t happen. They’d pushed it to the limit, with intensity and sometimes with fouls”, according to Xavi, who also highlighted the loss of Alves as an important factor: “he’s key to our game with his attacking game and we missed him when he was sent off”.

Despite the draw, the Spanish midfielder insisted: “we have to put this behind us and focus on the Champions League semi-final ahead of us. We have to go to Milan, play our game, score goals and come home with a win”.

Below are some of the other players’ post match reactions:

Keita:

“It’s not easy, but we have to concentrate on Tuesday now, that’s a very important objective”.

“I’d rather not talk about the ref, it’s a delicate matter, but it was a very hard physical game”

“Even after Alves was sent off, we tried our best to score, but the goal wouldn’t come”.

Valdés:

“It was a hard game and Espanyol were very intense, but we have to see the point we took as a positive”.

“I’m happy with my saves; I always am if I help the team get a result, but any time we fail to win, well, that’s not a good day”.

“It’s always a negative thing to end up with just 10 men”.

Alves:

“Even though I was sent off, I’m okay because I saw my teammates fighting till the end”.

“I cut off a counter attack for the second, so fair enough, but for the first, well there were similar things done by Espanyol players and the ref didn’t even blow a foul”.

Ibrahimovic:

“It wasn’t an easy game, Espanyol were very aggressive. Still, it’s a point and that’s better than nothing and there are still 5 games to go”.

“I feel physically fine. I played just 10 minutes, but I’ve been training 100% this week and I hope to play on Tuesday”.

“We’ll have to see what happens with problems surrounding the trip to Milan, but the team is really up for the game – who wouldn’t be? It’s a Champions League semi-final!”.

Maxwell:

“We’re sad about the result, because we fought hard and gave everything, but it was very difficult game”.

“The fans put a lot of pressure on and there were a few odd things happening on the pitch, but it’s no good looking for excuses with the ref, we just have to look at what we did and try and improve”.

“We were up against a team who fought really hard and played a t a high level”.