After Barcelona suffered their first league defeat of the season, manager Gerardo Martino defended his team's performance: “Until the goal we were the better team in the game, had a lot of control of the game. From that moment it was a different game.”
"Our first half was one of our best 45 minutes of the season. I am very self-critical and when things are not going well I say it. But today I did not see a big problem with team in first half.”
Despite losing two consecutive matches, something almost unheard of for the Blaugrana, Martino claimed he wasn't concerned with the state of the squad: “For me there is nothing too worrying, it would be worrying if the team went onto the pitch not knowing what to do."
After Barcelona went down a goal, Martino removed both Xavi and Iniesta and replaced them with Sergi Roberto and Pedro, respectively. He explained his decision to substitute the two club legends: "We knew we would lose control and possession, but we needed to get forward a bit more.”