FC Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard stated in the press conference after the match against Valencia that he was not happy with the draw after his Barca team dominated the game.


Here are his comments from the official press conference:


About the Match:

We just needed that extra something to win. In general I think that in the first half we dominated, although the rhythm was a bit slow which was surprising. When we went 1-0 down it was a difficult time. In the second half we played very well. I cannot complain about the result, but I always want to win.

About the Opponents Valencia:

We used a great deal of energy, but you have to remember the quality of the opposition. There are a lot of teams that come here to play in the same way as Valencia, but they have a lot of quality. We dominated and had 66 per cent of the possession, which is a lot but it is very difficult to play against such a strong team.
Valencia waited in their own half. We had a lot of the ball, but they had a lot players at the back. If you stay still then they were well placed. They blocked everything and we had to open the game up, to change things about. At time we did not do this and we continued doing the game thing. You need a lot of movement in the middle and elsewhere. It is not easy. It required the whole team to work with speed and creativity.

About substitute Javier Saviola:

The game was slowing and Javier is someone that can score goals and make a difference. There were only a few minutes left but he showed a good attitude and played well.

About the Future:

It is a shame that the game ended in a draw. But we will continue playing with the same mentality. It will not affect our next game because we now have a large squad.