FCBARCELONA.CAT

09.02.2008 23:58

Rijkaard: “It was a fair result”

Vanessa Forns

Frank Rijkaard reckoned that, bearing in mind how the game developed on Saturday against Sevilla, a one all draw in the Sánchez Pizjuán was “a fair result”.

FC Barcelona have took a point from Sevilla’s home patch after Xavi’s 75th minute strike cancelled out Diego Capel’s goal which had put the home side 1-0 up. The Barcelona manager saw a game “that had a lot of chances”, and for this reason he considered the result “fair”.

Match analysis

Frank Rijkaard thought the first team “dominated” from the start, but “we were unable to finish off our attacks and then Sevilla woke up and pressured us more”. After half time, though, he saw the game “open up more, marked by the Keita sending off”. “We played with more strikers and we could have won, although they also had chances”, added the azulgrana manager.

Taking everything into account Frank Rijkaard thought “it’s a fair result in a difficult ground”. Continuing his analysis of the game, the Barcelona manager thought Saturday’s game was “very workmanlike with a lot of emotion”, and also a great strain on the players’ “energy and physical effort”.

Praise for Sevilla

Frank Rijkaard only had words of praise for Sevilla: “I see Sevilla as one of the strongest sides, not only for the individual talent of their players but also as a team. They attack and defend as a unit, and these factors will take them far. We all know the problems they had at the start of the season which clearly affected them.

Ronaldinho’s performance

Asked about Ronaldinho’s performance, the Dutch manager said that “he’s working, training with the squad to regain fitness. He did everything he could today to help the team turn the result around”. In this sense Frank Rijkaard added “we are here to create the circumstances for him to return to his best form”.

Barça – focusing on themselves

Frank Rijkaard insisted that the most important thing for Barça is to “win points”, regardless of what Real Madrid do, the team that in Rijkaard’s opinion “is the strongest in the league at the moment”. “We have to take each moment as it comes and take each game as it comes”, he added.