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Guardiola cautions against Barcelona complacency

Josep Guardiola has told FC Barcelona they are "not at Wembley yet" despite an impressive victory at Real Madrid CF, although the coach paid tribute to his side's controlled display.

Guardiola cautions against Barcelona complacency
Guardiola cautions against Barcelona complacency ©UEFA.com

Josep Guardiola has warned his FC Barcelona players they "are not at Wembley yet" despite Lionel Messi's late double at the Santiago Bernabéu which put the Blaugrana in control of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid CF. The Barcelona coach also paid tribute to the match-winner and saluted his side's "control", while José Mourinho was left to rue the 61st-minute dismissal of midfielder Pepe as the game's turning point.

José Mourinho, Madrid coach
Barcelona are a great team but without the red card I think the game would have ended goalless. Against ten players they could play much easier. The second game in Barcelona will be very difficult, almost impossible. I had a miracle last year with FC Internazionale Milano in the Camp Nou, but at this time Madrid are out. We will go to Barcelona with all our pride and full of respect, but without Pepe and [Sergio] Ramos it will be very difficult.

My approach to the game had different phases: pressing the midfield and trying to frustrate the opposition as we had in the previous two games [in the Liga and Copa del Rey]. We knew Emmanuel Adebayor would come on in the second half and Kaká after him, but the red card changed everything. We were ready to take risks. Now it's an impossible task.

Josep Guardiola, Barcelona coach
We played a great match. With 11 players we controlled the speed of Madrid's attacks and their passing game. We were more aggressive and we must congratulate the team. A side like Madrid never give up a match or a tie. People in Barcelona know the respect we have for them. We have to recover for [Saturday's] league match and the second leg next Tuesday, but we are not at Wembley yet.

We are lucky to have Messi; at the age of 23, he's the third top scorer in our club's history and that's impressive. It's the beauty of our attacking style. We have corrected some things from the Copa del Rey final, things we did wrong. Playing several times against the same team means that we know each other better than ever, so we must be careful. We have not reached the final. We've only won 2-0 in the first leg.

We came here with a lot of players who grew up in La Masía and we controlled the game. We did not allow Madrid chances throughout the first half and that's very hard to do. I'm very proud. [David] Villa was sharp and [Seydou] Keita's work was also very important. But Madrid will be more dangerous on Tuesday.

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