‘Superior’ Spanish stars crib over Hiddink tactics
Barcelona failed to score at home for the first time this season against a Chelsea side which defended in numbers and committed almost three times as many fouls as the Catalans.
Defender Gerard Pique believes only his side played any football over the 90 minutes.
“Barcelona were the only team who wanted to play, and yet the reward is for Chelsea, even though it seems like they came for a draw,” he said. “At least we know we’re superior because we showed that on the pitch,” he added.
Xavi, meanwhile, accused Chelsea of unfair play. “There were some actions which were clear yellow cards and not even a foul was given, and then (Yaya) Toure was booked for protesting. One team wanted to play and the other one didn’t, it’s a shame — there’s talk about fair play, but I haven’t seen any from them,” he said.
Toure, who was booked for protesting a refereeing decision, believes German official Wolfgang Stark should have punished Chelsea players for their persistent fouls.
“It was worse than deplorable — it looked as if he had come to help Chelsea,” he said.
Barca and Chelsea ended up with two yellow cards apiece, but Toure says Hiddink’s men should have had more.
“Players like (Michael) Ballack and (John Obi) Mikel made so many fouls, it’s unbelievable to think they weren’t booked,” he said.
Barca coach Pep Guardiola added: “They (the players) were upset about that. I don’t complain about the referees, but I think the ref should see which team is attacking and which team is interrupting the play.
“We play clean; we foul as little as possible. And we have the same amount of cards as them. It’s not normal, it’s not fair.”
Like Pique, Barca President Joan Laporta also believes Chelsea were happy to play for a draw.
“They defended a lot and very well, although it looked as if that is exactly what they came to do: defend,” he said.
Nevertheless, Laporta is confident Barcelona can reach a second Champions League final since he took control of the club in 2003.
“They didn’t score and that’s the most important thing; we know a goal for us at Stamford Bridge will make life very difficult for them,” he said.
And striker Samuel Eto’o believes Chelsea will be obliged to play a more open and positive game when the two sides meet in London.
“We will try to score there in order to relax, but they won’t be able to play like they did today, with nearly all of their players waiting in their own half,” he said. Eto’o feels the Catalans still have a great chance of making the final in Rome next month.
“0-0 is not a bad result and we still have a great chance of getting to the final — a goal in London will change everything,” he said.
Guardiola will have problems in central defence for that match, though. Rafa Marquez broke down with a knee injury on Tuesday night and will be sidelined for the rest of the season, while Puyol’s booking means he is suspended for the return leg.
Gabi Milito is still out with a long-term injury, meaning Uruguay defender Martin Caceres — the club’s only other senior centre-back — is likely to come in for a rare start. However Barca’s young striker Bojan Krkic refused to blame the officials for his side’s inability to build a first-leg lead.
He said: “The referee can make mistakes, as I did when faced with Cech. If we would have played a little better and we ended up with the goals that we deserved, nobody would be talking about the referee.
“If we do our jobs better, then the referee should not have any influence on the result.”
Barca travel to London for the second leg next week, but before that they face arguably their biggest league game of the season as they travel to arch rivals Real Madrid on Saturday.
Guardiola’s men currently hold a four-point gap over second-placed Madrid with five games to go, and a victory this weekend would all but secure the Catalan club’s first league crown since 2006.
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