Tito Vilanova put his squad through their paces in Moscow this evening and the players had their first chance to check out the artificial pitch at Spartak’s stadium
The preparatory session for tomorrow’s game was held in freezing conditions
The first team squad trained at Luzhniki Stadium ahead of tomorrow’s game in Moscow and were able to get their first taste of the artificial pitch, a surface which the team are certainly not used to, but which Cesc Fàbregas made clear in his press conference: “we can’t use as an excuse”.
Low temperatures
All 21 players who made the trip -17 from the first team squad and four from the B team – were out on the pitch at 18.00 local time and together with the coaching staff –they were well wrapped up against the cold– they completed their final training session ahead of tomorrow’s match as temperatures oscillated between one degree above and two below freezing in the Russian capital.