Tito Vilanova, in his post match press conference on Saturday, showed his satisfaction with the team. He began by saying, “I think we controlled the ball, and we had a great game, the best we have had in a while.” The coach, as reported by Mundo Deportivo, also remembered that Barça could have scored a 4th goal before the penalty for Depor. Tito also centered his comments on the good things of the night, such as “the sacrifice Messi showed. He was on international duty, played both games, and he came back and plays like this.”

Regarding the substitutions, Tito clarified that “I put Pedro in because we needed our game to be stronger on the wings, then Adriano when we were one defender down, and Xavi because we needed more control.”

Despite not wishing to comment on the role of the referee, Tito did say that “in the four seasons that I’ve been here, I don’t remember Barça going to 10 men as we have this season, here at the Riazor and the Bernabéu“. Vilanova also defended Víctor Valdés, saying: “He is so good, he has been fantastic for so many years, that we don’t have any kind of doubt about him.”

Meanwhile, Cesc Fàbregas, one of the best players during the match, talked to the press as well, saying that “it was a crazy match, we had a good advantage when their 1st goal arrived, then the second, and despite going 2-4 into the second half, we allowed a 3rd goal and then a player was sent off … [it was a] really weird game. But I do think we had a very good first part, it got strange from the penalty that was doubtful to me, but all in all, it was a good game.”

Image: Ignasi Paredes (via Sport)