Barca frustrated by Milan barrier

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola lamented AC Milan’s defensive approach at Camp Nou after their 2-2 draw in the Champions League.

The visitors could not have wished for a better start, breaking the deadlock in the opening minute through Alexandre Pato, before Barca hit the front with goals from Pedro and David Villa.

Thiago Silva silenced the Catalan crowd with an injury-time header that forced a share of the spoils.

Guardiola said it was tiring for his players to break down Milan’s defensive structure, complaining that the Serie A champions only had ‘two-and-a-half’ forward thrusts, yet salvaged a point.

“It is never easy to attack when their midfielders convert into centre-backs,” he said.

“If they have to defend in the penalty box, they do it. Milan have a lot of merit for this result.”

“They reached our goal two-and-a-half times and they got a point. European teams like this reinforce even more what we have done.”

The 40-year-old played down the lost points, stressing that there is a lot left to play in the competition.

“We had a good match and if we consider the 90 minutes, we see we had a good match, we closed down Milan, though there are things we have to improve,” Guardiola said.

“This is the first of six matches and we have five games ahead.”

Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri was more satisfied with his side’s point from their trip to Spain.

“The team did very well at the start, then we got a bit too deep, mainly because of Barcelona’s pressure,” Allegri said.

“We could’ve done better with some counters and keeping possession, but it wasn’t easy.”

“I don’t think we allowed Barca many chances and could’ve gone 2-0 up straight after the opener.”

Allegri added that he was pleasantly surprised to have breached the Barca defence on two occasions.

“I didn’t expect this, as it’s not easy to come here and score twice. We all realised it was difficult and held firm, as Barcelona are capable of scoring three goals in five minutes,” he said.