Tito Vilanova, speaking after the 2-2 draw with Real Madrid at the Camp Nou, stated that the encounter was “a very good game of football” where both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid offered up “a great spectacle”. The manager also said, “I always think we should win our games, and in the end I thought we could have done it. I think we had our chance with the opportunities that fell to Montoya and Pedro. But if you told me at the beginning of the season that we’d be eight point up by this point, I would have signed on the dotted line. I’m very pleased with [my players’] ambition to dominate, to carry the weight of the match.”

Vilanova had difficulties without many of his defenders and finally decided to field Adriano in the center of the defence against Real Madrid: “The technical staff talked it over. I talked to him about it on Friday, and we tried it out in training. I needed to know if he thought he could do it, and he told me he could. I want to thank him for his effort. I also want to thank Piqué for trying to make it, for working morning, afternoon and evening, even though it didn’t work out in the end.” Asked about Alex Song, the manager made it clear that “I’ve shown him that I have confidence in him and I’ll continue to do so.” On Marc Bartra, he said that “it wasn’t the time to put him in that situation.”

Speaking about Lionel Messi, Tito said that “we don’t know what his limits are. You should see how he trains each day – he shows such a willingness to improve. I don’t think we’ll ever see a player like him again. He’s the best player in the world by far.” 

When asked about Mourinho’s comments about the referee, and Pepe’s accusation that his players dive, Vilanova was devastatingly clear: “Even though he said he didn’t want to talk about the referee, he did. Their second goal comes from a very clear foul on Iniesta. If we’re going to talk about the referees, let’s talk about it all, not about one specific play. Pepe? We should make a highlight reel of all of his kicks. What does Pepe have to say?”

Source: fcbarcelona.com; Image credit: Àlex Garcia, lavanguardia.com