Vilanova can´t care less for Ronaldo

Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova refused to be drawn on the furore surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s post-match comments on Sunday evening.

After Real Madrid’s convincing 3-0 demolition of Granada, in which he scored his 150th goal in a Madrid shirt, the Portguese international told reporters of his unhappiness with a ‘professional issue’ that the club are aware of.

Following Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Valencia – the club’s third win from three starts this campaign – Vilanova was asked for his opinion on the events unfolding in Madrid.

And while both these clubs have often never hesitated to take pot shots at each other, Vilanova refused to buy into the controversy.

“I have enough to worry about seeing how my own players are, let alone worrying about Cristiano Ronaldo’s situation,” Vilanova told reporters in his post-match press conference.

The Blaugrana manager went on to discuss his side’s fine start to the season as Barcelona moved five points clear of Real Madrid in the early running for this season’s La Liga crown.

“For us, the greatest value is that we have been able to take nine points from three games,” said the coach.

“We won in Pamplona, Osasuna and now here (Nou Camp) against Valencia, a really difficult squad.

“(But) I do not want to be looking at what others are doing.

“I’m sure the (playing) level will increase during the year. I do not think any team is at optimum level yet.”

Vilanova lamented the fact his side failed to make more of their chances as the 1-0 result was decided by Adriano’s 22nd-minute strike.

Cesc Fabregas missed two chances for Barca and Valencia almost made them pay as Roberto Soldado and Victor Ruiz both produced narrow misses, the latter also having a goal ruled out for offside.

Despite his side sitting 17th on the table with just two points so far, Valencia coach Mauricio Pellegrino took heart from the performance on the road.

“The match was difficult for both teams,” he said.

“We had our chances, my team played a really good defensive match.

“Barcelona weren’t any better than us but won the game narrowly.

“I think we made chances in the three last games. We played a really good 60 minutes against Deportivo La Coruna. Today we created chances as well.

“We have played well against the champions of last season and now against the runners-up.

“Maybe we didn’t play a good 30 minutes against Deportivo, but I’m happy with the team after those three matches.”