The goalkeeper believes that “little things” will be decisive in the return leg of the quarter final tie of the Champions against Atletico
Jose Manuel Pinto was the guest on the Barça TV program ‘El Marcador’ after the 3-1 win against Betis. This is how he summarized the Barça performance: “The feeling is that in the first half we were better than in the second. Maybe we suffered after the physical effort in the Champions League, or maybe Betis were just better in the second half”. At the same time, he emphasised the importance of the win: “We’re in the final stretch, and every game is vital. Really important” and he added that “There is little room for error and we have to fight right to the last game.”
Coming back to the Champions League qualifier against Atletico, the goalkeeper admitted: “The other day was a very hard game, and we had to work very hard. For the return leg we will be in perfect shape”. Pinto expects the decisive match at the Calderon to go like this: “It will be very even, just like here. Small details will make the difference. We hope to handle these details the best”.
Not thinking about non-sporting issues
In a busy week at an institutional level, the keeper explained how the first team have dealt with recent events. “We try to put them to one side, although it’s true that there is a fairly strange atmosphere, some strange things are going on. We are staying focussed and trying to let these things not affect us in any way, but it hurts what’s happening to the Club”.[[CITA_1]] Finally, the experienced Pinto stated that he was accustomed to pressure even before signing for Barça, in 2008. “Athletes learn to live with pressure, it’s part of the job”, he explained