|
BARCELONA -- Willy Caballero has defended fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo after his red card in the 4-0 defeat against Barcelona and said he would have tried to do exactly the same thing as his teammate. City were already trailing to a Lionel Messi goal in their Champions League clash at the Camp Nou on Wednesday when Bravo was sent off for handling the ball outside his area after gifting a clearance straight to Luis Suarez. Barca went on to stroll to victory but City boss Pep Guardiola insisted after the match that he will continue to ask his goalkeepers to play in the same way and sweep up balls on the edge of their box. "We take the decisions in small seconds and in this case Claudio tried to keep playing, as we usually do," Caballero, who was beaten three times after coming on as a substitute but saved a late Neymar penalty, told reporters. "Unfortunately the game switched to the side of Barcelona. "Maybe I would have tried to do the same because our way now is to keep the ball and try to play, but we are different keepers. Nobody knows what is the best decision. "It is difficult against Barcelona with the score in front and 10 players. It is really hard. I didn't have time to do my warm-up, but there is nothing to complain about. "I had to start the second leg of the second half after the red card of Claudio and try to do my best. Unfortunately we conceded a lot of chances. Most of them to Messi and the rest of the players made good finishes." Bravo, who was making his first return to Barca since his summer switch to City, should be back in goal for Sunday's Premier League clash with Southampton. And Caballero says it is important the side react positively to the defeat against Barca, which was their fourth successive match without a win. "We need to react now," he said. "After this big defeat we need to be compact, be together, show a good reaction for the staff, teammates, the people that came to Barcelona to watch the game and for the rest of the fans at home against Southampton. "We miss wins. We need to win the next game. We have to turn the page and focus on Southampton."
|
