22 Feb 2009 Guardiola Calm After Barcelona's Shock Espanyol Loss
Josep Guardiola saw his team succumb to an unexpected loss in the Barcelona derby, but he saw no reason to panic.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, he said, "We have lost a game, but I am not concerned with the lead we have.
"Nobody said it would be easy, but now we must continue forward at Lyon."
Proceeding to analyse the encounter, Guardiola stated, "It was a very tiring game and we must recover well.
"I feel bad not to have given the fans a victory," continued the coach. "We lacked a little rhythm.
"Despite that, we still created a lot of chances."
When asked about the significance of Seydou Keita's red card, the Barca boss said, "The expulsion changed everything.
"It was similar to the Copa del Rey clash, where there were also a lot of interruptions," he continued. "We were not capable of playing our own game.
"I congratulate Espanyol, because they played a great match."
The Santpedor-born trainer then elaborated on the changes he made to try and turn the game around: "Puyol entered and formed a back three, so we could throw Alves up a bit further, as well as to deny Nene space."
"We brought Busquets on for Eto'o because we knew he could use his height and win some second balls to allow Gudjohnsen into the game."
The Barca manager was fairly philosophical about the remainder of the campaign despite the setback.
"We've always said that the league will not just be given to us.
"We have lost, we must recover, and in the end the league will place us where we deserve to be.
"We will continue until the end, no matter how many games we lose.
"If we cannot win, we will congratulate whoever does."
Guardiola then mentioned that the players were "hurt" by the defeat. He also admitted that the loss of Abidal would be a problem, although he expressed confidence in his players' ability to cover for his absence.
He concluded the media interview session by saying: "I am not going to comment on the referees. I never like to talk about referees, when we lose it is our fault.
"Judging the referees is your job," he boomed cynically.
