© EuroFootball.com
Strategist Pep Guardiola was not inclined to emphasize that his students played only a 1-1 draw with Chichon's "Sporting" on Saturday.
The Spanish champions equalized the result only in the 80th minute, giving Madrid's "Real," who is in second place, the opportunity to reduce the gap to five points.
"We didn't win, but we did everything to achieve victory," Guardiola said. "We can lose or play draw only if we try our best. We pressed, we pressed, we pressed. It's not easy when 10 opponents' players are compacted on their half of the field."
Guardiola dismissed any influence of the international friendly matches that took place in the middle of the week on this result.
"It's not the national teams' fault. Representing the "Barcelona" club means being ready to play matches every few days - we have done that more than once," the strategist added.
