The Argentinean said that “it was a great match, we played really well but we have to remember that Madrid have a great team”
After Mourinho’s praise of both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Argentinean thanked the Madrid manager and he noted that “Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player”
The Barça forward and Xavi Hernández agree that maintaining the eight-point advantage is fundamental
Xavi noted that “the behaviour of the fans was exemplary”
Training session on Tuesday
The team will have Monday off and return to work on Tuesday at 11.00 at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper. There will be no press conference after the session.
Messi once again stole the Clásico limelight with two goals but in the end they weren’t enough to win the three points. “It was a great game, we would have preferred to win but we need to remember that Real Madrid are a great team,” he said.
On his second goal of the night, from a free kick, he said that “we like to practice these kind of situations and today I was lucky enough to score.”
When asked about Barça’s recent string with injuries, Messi said that “we’re not having too much luck. We were missing some important players today, but we’re lucky enough to have really good players on this team and they all do an excellent job.” The Argentinean concluded his interview by thanking Mourinho and saying that “it would be an honour to equal Di Stéfano’s record. I want to keep on doing a good job.” Messi has notched up 17 goals against Real Madrid, leaving him one adrift of Real Madrid’s legendary player.
Xavi plays his 35th Clásico
Xavi Hernández also put in a great performance against Madrid this evening. The midfielder, who played his 35th Clásico, said that “we’re in a good moment right now, we played a great game.” On the final result, the Blaugrana said that “we deserved much more and we always want more when we face our arch-rivals.”
The Barça vice-captain isn’t worried about how things are going in the Liga: “The eight-point difference allows us to take on future challenges with tranquility.” He finished his interview by saying that “what happened today was only a football match. We’re with the people.” He added: “the people gave a great lesson in public spirit, we should all learn from them.”
Here are the statements made by FC Barcelona players after the match:
Sergio Busquets:
“The match was very equal. It’s a shame that it ended in a draw because we were the better side, now we can’t do anything about it.”
“There’s a lot of Liga left and we have really complicated away games on the schedule.”
Adriano:
“We practiced and prepared for tonight’s game at the Ciutat Esportiva. We trained so that we could stop Madrid’s most dangerous weapon, their counterattacks.”
“I played the central defender role because the manager thought it was the best thing to do seeing that Madrid are very fast.”
“It’s a shame that we didn’t win. We know that there’s a lot of Liga still ahead and we still have our eight-point advantage.”
Pedro:
“In the end it’s a good result because Madrid didn’t cut into out lead, and that’s very important.”
“The two team played really well, even though Barça were the dominant side.”
“The knock on my leg didn’t turn out to be anything, it was really painful when it happened, though.”
“Messi is incredible, he always marks the difference.”