FCBARCELONA.CAT

05.04.2008 14:25

“All our remaining games are finals”

Sandra Sarmiento

Frank Rijkaard’s assistant, Johan Neeskens, has said that the final games of the season must all be played as if they were cup finals. “There’s not long to go and we can’t mess up.”

There are eight games left in the league and a seven point difference with Madrid. For the training staff and players a win against Getafe would keep their hopes alive for the title and keep them in good shape for the vital game against Schalke on Wednesday. “The game tomorrow is as important as Wednesday’s”, said Neeskens. “We’ll go out concentrating on getting the best results. We can’t mess up again and we are dependent on what others do but the most important thing is to win against Getafe.”

Previous meetings with Getafe

The Madrid side, managed by Michael Laudrup, have proven to be difficult opponents for Barça over the last couple of years. In fact, they knocked them out of the cup last season and also beat them 2-0 in the league match earlier this season. “It’s true, we lost but I don’t want to talk about such things”, said Neeskens. “We have to do everything we can to beat a very good team.”

Key performance in the Veltins-Arena

This was an important away win without conceding a goal. For Neeskens the game against Schalke should be used as a reference point for all upcoming fixtures. “The team played well and we kept a clean sheet. We must continue like this and when we are winning we have to try to maintain our style of play. We shouldn’t be afraid when the opposition put us under pressure. We have to play with the qualities we have.”