The quarter-final first leg between Barcelona and AC Milan ended in a goalless draw with the Catalan manager praising his side's combative display.
Numerous goal scoring opportunities were spurned by both, AC Milan and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604, as the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg affair ended in a tie, with either side showing rare prolificacy in front of the net.
Reflecting on the details of the match, Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola, insisted his side were the better of the two fighting on the pitch. He pointed towards La Blaugrana’s possession statistics to exemplify his stance.
However, the 41-year-old tactician admitted that he cautioned his players against recklessness, highlighting the fact that 90 minutes are yet to be played at the Camp Nou.
Despite this, Barcelona amassed 17 shots on target as the referee blew for full-time.
Continuing on the topic, he directed his attention to Les Cules and asked them to come in full support for the return leg which will decide the course of their season.
"We played well, we had possession of the ball and we dominated."
"At half-time, I told my players not to take too many risks, but despite that we had 17 shots on target while playing with nine players from our youth ranks.”
"We played like ourselves in a match which was really demanding. Milan are satisfied with the result and that is the biggest compliment we can get from a club with seven European Cups.”
"The fans must show up in the second leg. These players have given too many things to be left alone. I know that the fans will come."
The Catalan manager played down the importance of penalty calls by Barcelona players, stating that it was up to the match official to award it and they cannot do anything about it.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 manager, Arsene Wenger, was highly critical of the pitch at the San Siro, which greatly hindered Barcelona’s style of play.
Guardiola voiced his frustrations regarding the condition of the playing field as well and believes the Italian side should take appropriate measures to tackle the situation.
However, he stated that they cannot complain about it as in order to become champions they will have to face adversity in the face.
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