Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola rues final passes and misuse of first-half space

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has expressed his unhappiness at his team’s first-half display in their 3-1 victory victory against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

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Despite a reasonable start, the Catalan boss rued the misuse of space in the opening 45 minutes, but did applaud the champions' second-half efforts after they stepped up their game in the second period.

"We had a few chances in the first half, but perhaps the final pass was missing," Guardiola told reporters at the post-match press conference.

"I think the second half was good, we used the space better after we took the lead.

"We tried to improve our game. But we were playing away and we came into the game after the break.

The 41-year-old claimed to be content at having scored three goals in Germany, and explained just how hard it is to get a result outside of La Liga.

"When you play against the German teams then you don’t have the control, you don’t have the possession and you receive a lot of problems because they are physically stronger and they are a very good team.

"In the second half we played a game which wasn’t very interesting for us, but we’re still happy to score three goals away from home."

Guardiola was not the only person left rueing missed opportunities as Leverkusen defender Stephen Reinartz claimed the home side were unlucky not to equalise for a second time after hitting the post shortly after Alexis Sanchez’s second.

"It was very hard to play against them but we knew that before,” Reinartz told Goal.com.

“It was very positive that we had some good chances and we had the chance to make it 2-2. Barcelona weren’t as good as everyone thought."

Midfielder Simon Rolfes suggests the visitors were the more physical side, stating that the Spanish giants were much fitter.

"It was a very special game. The problem is, if you get and win the ball against Barcelona, then you are tired and they are okay."

Since November, Goal.com has been publishing exclusive extracts from Graham Hunter's highly-anticipated new book, 'Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World'. The very last extract, which is published on Friday, looks at Andres Iniesta's risky return from injury in the 2009 Champions League Final and how he was described by Wayne Rooney as the 'best midfielder in the world'. Don't miss it!