Levante boss Luis Castro took pride in his players despite defeat to Barcelona, insisting his side put in a strong display and could have taken something from the game after carving out a host of chances against the Spanish league leaders.
The tactical switch he made during the match paid off, Castro confirmed, pointing out that Levante created more chances against Barcelona than any of their opponents this season. He also tackled the impact of the heat and the dry pitch at the Ciutat de Valencia, with the game kicking off at quarter past four in the afternoon.
Castro said of the state of the pitch: "We watered it, but if there is someone suffering from the intense heat in the stands, we cannot block out the sun," explaining that the club cut the grass and watered the surface before kick-off because it does not want to win on a poor pitch.
"The pitch is in very good condition for a team that changed the grass on its pitch at the start of the season, and played on other pitches whose grass was far worse," he added. "We came here yesterday because we wanted the pitch to be in good condition."
Sarcasm crept in as he continued: "There is one thing Levante is still unable to do, though we will try next time: block out the sun. You are playing in Valencia at four in the afternoon, and that is impossible. The players told us that when they went out, the sun was scorching, and the grass dries in two minutes. What are we supposed to do?"
His reaction after the third goal? The Levante coach explained: "We were talking to the players about how we were creating chances. If we had scored another goal, it would have increased their doubts, and that is what happened."
The attacking changes were designed to ramp up the pressure on Barcelona, he said: "We made some changes in the attacking line because we knew they were players capable of causing problems. Ivan had three excellent chances and took one of them. We knew we would press a little more with the substitutes, because they were more energetic, and the changes were made to try to achieve a better result."
Castro rejected the idea that defeat had crushed the dressing room, insisting his side had been on a fine run before facing Barcelona: "Defeats are defeats, but we hurt because we were aiming for more. We wanted to play to win because Barcelona is a very big team."
"We had gone eight consecutive matches unbeaten, winning seven of them. It hurts because we wanted to win, but we also know that we gave our best," he added. "I always tell the players: if you give everything you can, I cannot ask any more of you."
Praise flowed for the Levante fans and the atmosphere at the Ciutat: "I am used to the Ciutat stadium. Once again, the performance was amazing, and it is no longer a surprise to me. We have gone seven matches unbeaten, and they are always present in our minds."
"They acknowledged that the team gave everything it had and defended the badge until the end, and once again, the performance was superb," he continued.
Barcelona's edge on the scoreline, despite all those Levante chances, drew a blunt verdict from Castro: "If you do not score goals, you will lose five nil. We ended the match with more shots than them and clear goalscoring chances. It was a performance that deserved a win, but there are fine details, some shots go in and others do not. They were very clinical."