FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and his counterpart at Espanyol, Tintin Marquez, both had different ways of viewing things following a hard-fought and controversial match between the two teams from the city of Barcelona.
The Barcelona derby is always a tense affair and the game which finished after midnight on Saturday was no different.
There was fighting in the stands as Barca's most radical supporters threw flares into the stands occupied by the home fans and also controversy on the pitch.
A penalty from Leo Messi with the last kick of the game gave Barca a 2-1 victory. But the Espanyol players were left furious at the decision from referee Medina Cantalejo to give the penalty in the first place.
Medina awarded the penalty for a foul on Samuel Eto'o but replays showed the defender had also got the ball. The referee had previously left Espanyol with just 10 men after a rigorous red card for midfielder Nene.
"The intention of the referee in some moments of the game affected the result," said Espanyol coach Marquez in local paper El Mundo Deportivo.
"It was a cruel game for us. My players made a great effort and we stopped the Barca team from moving the ball. But the last act of the game with the penalty was a shame."
"It was an injustice to lose like that," he concluded.
Meanwhile Guardiola believed his side had deserved the triumph after controlling over 70 percent of the possession of the ball.
"I don't think we won because of the referee," he said.
"We played some extraordinary football in the first half. But we cannot allow ourselves to miss so many chances. I want to congratulate my players for what they did and also the Espanyol team because their display disrupted our initial plans," added Guardiola on the Barcelona club website.
Finally he had some harsh words for the Barca supporters who had provoked the incidents in the stands.
"The actions were both sad and disgraceful. We are the first to denounce it and it cannot be tolerated," he said.
Elsewhere on Saturday night, Real Madrid needed a last minute goal to beat Betis 2-1. Ruud Van Nistelrooy gave the points to the league champions, who had been reduced to 10 men following Marcelo's red card.
"We deserved to win," was all Madrid coach Bernd Schuster would say.
Finally Villarreal remain in contention at the top of the table after their 1-0 win away to Sporting Gijon. Villarreal will go to the top if Valencia fail to win on Sunday night, while Sporting have lost all five games this season.
Source: Xinhua
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