Barcelona coach Louis van Gaal pronounced himself pleased after watching his side come back from a goal down to beat Bayer Leverkusen.
“It is a great start to the group but it is our goal to reach the final of the Champions League and to win the competition. The results on the way are important but we want to win this competition,” he said.
“I don’t think I made any mistakes choosing the team,” he said.
“Leverkusen are a typical German side who are physically strong, and I had to keep that in mind and field my side appropriately. At half-time I had to risk more and therefore I brought on Saviola and (Juan) Riquelme. If I had sent them on earlier they would not have played as well as they did.”
“The quality of the players was the key factor in this game and of course you always need a little bit of luck,” he added.
“I told my players after thematch against Real Madrid that if they continued playing in the same manner they would force luck to turn our way.”
In contrast, Leverkusen coach Klaus Toppmoler was disappointed with his side”s defeat, especially after going in at half-time a goal to the good.
“We played a very good first half and closed Barcelona down really well. We knew exactly what lineup they would field, hardly let them have a chance and deserved to take thelead,” he said.
“However, after the break the mistakes we made were punished savagely.”
However, despitethe defeat, Toppmolller refused to concede that his team were out of contention.
“It is a setback but it is not over yet. Just remember last season we were hammered by Juventus in the opening match but none the less we went on to win the group. I have always said that everything is possible in this group and I am sticking to my opinion.”
