Champions League: Never doubted my team, says Barca coach

Vilanova pleased after last-gasp goal earns win over Celtic.

BARCELONA:

Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova said that he never gave up hope that his side would get the winning goal after Jordi Alba’s last-gasp strike gave Barcelona a 2-1 win to sink a battling Celtic side and make it three wins out of three in Group G for the Catalan giants.

The visiting Scottish fans were all set to cheer a well-earned point at Barca’s Nou Camp fortress but instead they were left crestfallen after conceding a goal in the 93rd minute with Alba bundling the ball over from close range.

“We scored at the end but we deserved to do before that as we took the game to them and had all the openings,” said Vilanova. “They were a dangerous side on the counter-attack and in the air so although we pushed forward we couldn’t leave ourselves open at the back.”

Barca, who lead the group with nine points, have not been beaten at home for three years in Europe but they went behind when a header from Giorgos Samaras deflected off Mascherano after 16 minutes.

Andres Iniesta brought them level before half-time and despite late pressure where keeper Fraser Forster made a series of fine saves and David Villa hit the woodwork, Celtic looked like they would hold on but it was not to be.

Fergie baffled by United’s defensive woes

Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he was baffled by Manchester United’s defensive woes after watching Braga run riot before Javier Hernandez rescued a 3-2 win against the Portuguese minnows.

While Ferguson was full of admiration for the Hernandez-inspired fightback, it was revealing that, without any prompting, he launched into an analysis of his team’s problems at the back during the post-match press conference.

Even more intriguing was Ferguson’s revelation that he does not have a cure for the careless way United are surrendering so many goals.

“I can’t understand our defending, I can’t get to bottom of it at all,” said Ferguson. “We aren’t getting good starts to games that’s for sure. It’s making it difficult for us.”

Fortunately for Ferguson, while Braga proved adept at exploiting United’s flaws at the back, Jose Peseiro’s side had plenty of holes in their defence as well.

Chelsea must avenge Shakhtar loss, says Di Matteo

Roberto Di Matteo’s thoughts quickly turned to Chelsea’s return game with Shakhtar Donetsk after seeing his side beaten 2-1 by the Ukrainian champions in Champions League Group E.

“You have to analyse Shakhtar’s performance correctly,” said Di Matteo, who led Chelsea to their first-ever Champions League success last season. “We could have done better as a team. But, there’s still a good chance to qualify for the next round though we absolutely have to win our next match at home to Shakhtar.”

Elsewhere, Spartak Moscow gained their first win after losing their first two matches with a hard fought 2-1 win over Benfica.

BATE Borisov, who stunned Bayern Munich last time out, were brought back to earth with a thud as Roberto Soldado’s hat-trick earned Valencia a 3-0 win, whereas Bayern Munich won 1-0 away to Lille.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2012.