“What did he tell me when he hugged me? It wasn’t a kiss, it was a hug. He told me that he’s glad to see me. Just like that. And I told him: ‘Me, too’ I told him later that he got out of control the game totally, but I don’t blame him for anything. The fault of the tie is ours”.
It could not have been more emphatic Xavi Hernandez, Barca’s coach. “Mateu gives you the feeling that he dominates the game and has control but he has gotten out of control. We are angry with ourselves. We have kicked 22 or 23 times and Espanyol four shots but how do you not judge it? You think it is unfair. But playing better than “The opponent doesn’t win. I get angry with myself. We’re all angry, we’ve lost two very important points”, the Barca coach acknowledged.
“I am very proud of my players,” said Diego Martínez, the Espanyol coach, highlighting his team’s ability to resist. Up to three times the coach used the club’s slogan. “It has been shown that it was the force of a sentiment”, specified the blue and white coach.
While Xavi lamented the blackout that Barça suffered after the initial half hour. “We can talk about the referee, but the mistakes are ours. When you forgive so much and you are not effective, these things can happen, they are games that have to be sentenced,” the Barca coach complained.
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Xavi has said that he was “angry with himself” while Diego Martínez set his sights on the mental strength of his team. “My players have known how to keep a cool head and have known how to wait for their moment. The team has competed very well”, commented the Espanyol coach, who did not want to address Mateu Lahoz’s performance.
“I have earned the right not to comment on the referees, but we are talking about one of the best referees in the world.”