FCBARCELONA.CAT

22.04.2007 23:57

“The approach at home and away is the same”

Sunday’s defeat to Villarreal is Barça’s sixth in the league so far this season. The players have insisted that there’s no change in their attitude when they play away.

Speaking after the match, Víctor Valdés told us: “The approach at home and away is the same”, while Xavi admitted: “It’s getting more and more difficult to win away from home”. Both Xavi and Puyol suggested that the poor state of the pitch had counted against Barça. However, in general, the players took a positive slant on the situation and insisted that Barça is still top of the table.

Here are some of the players’ post match comments:

Xavi Hernández

“We have lost a good opportunity to maintain the lead we had”.

“We have to carry on playing the way we did in the first half. And above all, we have to take our chances, which is what we didn’t do”.

“It’s obvious it’s going to be very tight right up to the end”.

“There are seven ‘finals’ left”.

“Their goal affected us a lot and we had to change a lot”.

“We still rely on ourselves”.

“The opponents also make life difficult for us when they can. Today, for example, they didn’t water the pitch”.

Lionel Messi

“I think we played well in the first half and created quite a few chances. In the second half we couldn’t find as much space”.

Valdés

“If we’d won, the league still wouldn’t be decided”.

“I think our football is about the same despite the fact that away from home we’re not getting the results we want”.

“We have to keep on working and improve the things that aren’t going well”.

“They took 100% of their chances”.

Carles Puyol

“It was a very important match. We came here for the three points but in the end it wasn’t to be”.

“They took their chance and then closed things down even tighter”.

“We didn’t play badly. We worked hard”.

“The pitch was very dry but even so we were able to create some good chances”.

“The most important thing is to win the next match”.

“The league is very long and we’ve always said it would be very difficult and that every game would be like a final”.

“We’re in a better position than all the other teams. I have confidence in the team”.

“The trip will help us to unwind. It’s a friendly that should help us improve”.

Andrés Iniesta

“We’re still first. We have to carry on with this attitude and kill off the games”.