Barcelona manager, Tito Vilanova was satisfied with his side’s 0-2 win over Segunda side, Cordoba in the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie and insisted that Cordoba has the quality to surprise the Catalans at the Camp Nou.

TitoVilanova1-e1349551025445In his post-match press conference, Vilanova was clear that this tie is not over, while also praising the work of David Villa.

“We haven’t won the tie, we had a good outcome and have the advantage, but there is still the second leg left to play and the can score two goals on us.

“I’m happy with the work of David Villa tonight, we provided Leo with the first goal, he worked hard and created space.  In the end he was tired, more than he let on and with Cordoba playing high, I felt Cristian Tello was the best option.  But I am very happy with David’s work tonight, very happy.

“We played with different players than we did against Betis.  We knew the difficulty of this match and how Cordoba opens up the pitch, last year they were fighting for promotion.  We knew that it would be difficult; they showed that from the start.  It’s also true that these players were tired against Alaves, but these are players are accustomed to playing three matches in a row.

“We can’t just point out Leo, there were others playing at the same level against Cordoba.  Leo looked very fresh in training, and is happy to be playing after his injury.  He is back to running, marking, pressing and he made it ninety-something minutes.

“Cordoba did not surprise us, they were as we expected, and we would not even consider the option of taking it easy.  I would like to say that in Champions League they have a good ball, and in the Copa it feels like we have a beach ball, I don’t understand why we can’t have a good ball for this competition.

“Cordoba may not have hosted a team at the level of Barcelona in 40 years, but we expected a warm reaction and the fans were spectacular and the field is intimate.  It was a good game where both sides played bravely.”

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