Room for Barcelona Improvement But Happy – Tito Vilanova On Win Over Spartak Moscow

Thursday, 20th September, 2012

Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova was satisfied to see his side beat Spartak Moscow 3-2 in their Champions League opener, but admitted the performance could have been better.

As expected, Barcelona dominated possession and took the lead through Cristian Tello in the 14th minute – the match seemed to be turning out as a routine Blaugrana victory at the Camp Nou.

relatedNewsStory But Spartak Moscow, coached by former Valencia boss Unai Emery, hit back, equalising via a Dani Alves own goal before, in the second half, Romulo gave them the lead.

That sparked Barcelona into life and, especially, Lionel Messi, with the Argentine scoring in the 72nd and 80th minutes to hand Vilanova’s men the three points.

And, while they are welcome, the performance left some room for improvement.

"The performance was good, but not the best. We played well, opening up the pitch", said Vilanova post-match.

"The best thing was the reaction of the players and it is a good feeling because it is important to start with a win.

"They were difficult to unlock and made things hard for us with a couple of counter-attacks."

Next in the Champions League for Barcelona is a visit to Portuguese giants Benfica, who drew their opener against the other side in the group, Celtic, 0-0 in Scotland.

Before then however, Vilanova’s side have two La Liga fixtures to concentrate on, with Granada the visitors to the Camp Nou this weekend, before a trip to Sevilla.