Tuesday, April 23, 2013

No complacency from Robben

Arjen Robben spoke of his pride after helping Bayern Munich claim a stunning UEFA Champions League victory over Barcelona, but insisted they were not thinking of a Wembley final just yet.
Bayern took a giant stride towards a third final in four years after thrashing Barça in tonight's semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena, with a brace from Thomas Muller sandwiching goals from Robben and Mario Gomez. Although the remarkable scoreline had not really sunk in for Robben immediately after the game, he hailed his side for their performance.

The former Real Madrid winger also insisted they would be keeping celebrations to a minimum with a second-leg trip to the Nou Camp still to come. Asked if he could believe what happened, Robben told ITV: "Not really...I think we knew we were able to give them good competition, I think everybody said before it was a 50-50 game.

We can be very proud, this team (Barcelona) has dominated Europe over the last five years and if you beat them like this in such terrific way I think you can be proud. But on the other hand, let's be quiet, enjoy this evening but not any more, because there's still the second game to play and we have to be ready."

When asked if he had Wembley in his thoughts, the Dutch international added on Sky Sports News: "No, no, no, but that's also the strength of this team, we keep focusing. There's always the next game. Let's stay concentrated, not talk too much and just play our football."

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique refused to make any excuses for his side's loss and admitted their hopes of reaching the final were now "almost impossible".

He told television channel TV3: "There's not much you can say, they've been faster, stronger and played the better football. It's almost impossible for us. They've been better than us, we need to congratulate them and show our best in the return leg while thinking about finshing the league as soon as possibile. We are Barça, we must go out at the Nou Camp to win the game for our fans."


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