Guardiola praise for triumphant Atletico

Guardiola praise for triumphant Atletico
(PA) Monday 15 February 2010
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Pep Guardiola admitted Barcelona were not at their best after seeing their unbeaten Primera Division record ended by Atletico Madrid, but insisted the credit must go to their opponents.

Barca started the clash at the Vicente Calderon reasonably well but soon found themselves under serious pressure, going 2-0 down inside 23 minutes as well as seeing midfielder Seydou Keita limp off to join an already-lengthy list of absentees.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 27th-minute strike gave Barca some hope, but the reigning champions could find no further in-roads during the remainder of the match as Atletico belied their lowly league position to stun the leaders.

Guardiola, whose side are now two points ahead of Real Madrid at the summit, said: "My team didn't play well, although you also have to acknowledge the performance of our opponents. We've lacked the control that helps us play our game. We've always been a team that ends up creating chances, and today it's been harder than normal for us due to the great job that Atletico have done.

"They've been very well organised and you have to congratulate them on the victory. We weren't sharp and we were lacking in our play and in our passing."

Guardiola also refused to blame his side's defeat on the fact they were missing so many players in defence. Due to injuries and suspension, Guardiola was without the services of Eric Abidal, Dani Alves, Dmitro Chygrynskiy, Rafa Marquez, Gerard Pique and Yaya Toure, and ended up employing young winger Jeffren at right-back.

The early loss of Keita was also a setback and he is set to be out for four weeks with a hamstring problem.

"I don't want to make excuses because of the injuries, as all teams have absences during the the season. This is happening to us now," said Guardiola.

Atletico's win was their third in succession against Barca in the league and capped a fine week that also saw them progress through to the final of the Copa del Rey.

There has not been many bright spots for the capital club this season, but coach Quique Sanchez Flores was delighted with the way his side played tonight, and especially how they nullified the threat of Barca's all-star attack.

"I'm very pleased with my players. We were united and we stopped the Catalan side from developing their usual play. We were good in attack in the opening 45 minutes, but not so much in the second half," said Sanchez Flores, who singled out his side's defence for special praise.

"I wasn't surprised by their performance. That backline has been playing well in recent matches, but the team hasn't been winning. We've not made changes in those positions in order for them to get to know each other better. I think that's been fundamental for them."