FCBARCELONA.CAT

22.09.2007 23:58

Rijkaard: “We deserved the win”

Vanessa Forns

Frank Rijkaard was delighted with his team’s 2-1 win against Sevilla and stressed: “We deserved the win”.

Rijkaard reminded reporters of his comments before the match: “It was vital to keep growing as a team. We’ve beaten a very well organised opponent and taken three very important points. Anyone that saw the match has to say that we deserved the win”.

Praise for Messi

Lionel Messi, who scored both of Barça’s goals, was undoubtedly the star of the match. The Argentine striker dedicated his first goal to team-mate Ronaldinho, who was ruled out of contention at the last moment due to a calf problem. According to Frank Rijkaard: “Messi is playing really well. I very much liked the fact that, after the first goal, he remembered his team-mate. It shows that he’s got a cool head because when you score a goal you normally only think about celebrating”.

Pity about the Sevilla goal

Frank Rijkaard preferred not to draw any comparisons between the performance last night and the one against Lyon: “I don’t want to compare matches”. He congratulated his players while at the same time regretting the Sevilla goal in the 90th minute: “The last goal was a pity. It gave us some anxious final moments”.

Praise for Touré Yaya

Finally, Rijkaard assured reporters that he was not worried about Ronaldinho and then singled out Touré Yaya for a special mention: “Touré comes as no surprise. He’s adapted very quickly, reads the game really well and has plenty of tactical discipline. He makes life difficult for any opponent”.