Okan Buruk hailed the quality of Barcelona's players after his Galatasaray side were beaten 4-1 by the Catalan club in the Champions League, insisting the hosts enjoy a telepathic understanding on the pitch.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", the Galatasaray coach said: "We played against players who know each other by heart. They are like a complete machine. We feel sad because we lost."
Despite the scoreline, Buruk took pride in his players. They represented Turkish football well, he argued, and showed in spells that they can go toe to toe with the continent's heavyweights.
He continued: "We proved that we are a team that deserves to play in the Champions League, whether through the pitch or the atmosphere created by our fans."
Asked about the defeat, Buruk pointed to his side's panic under Barcelona's pressing. They went long far too often rather than keeping the ball and reading the game.
"In the first half, and up to a certain moment, we carried out what we wanted, but we dropped back towards the end of the half into the penalty area, which was something I did not want," he said.
Alexey Batrakov had put Galatasaray ahead on 28 minutes. Joao Cancelo levelled for Barcelona in the 43rd, and the sides went in at 1-1.
Barcelona took control after the break. Fermin Lopez and Anthony Gordon struck in the 50th and 53rd minutes, Karim Adeyemi added a fourth on 65, and the Catalans wrapped up a 4-1 win to maintain their strong start in the competition.