Jordi Roura praised his Barcelona players for their performance in dispatching with Milan 4-0 in the Champions League Last 16 second leg.
La Blaugrana ran out with the convincing score-line to book a place in the quarter-finals of the competition 4-2 on aggregate.
“We had a very clear idea of how we needed to play. We tried to open up the pitch on one side more than the other,” explained assistant Coach Roura.
“We fixed our centre forward position and that stopped their full backs from coming forward. At the break we were right where we wanted to be, level on aggregate. I told the players to be calm.
“Frankly it was pretty difficult when we were up 3-0 and it seemed as though Milan could have scored from any play. We controlled the tempo of the match and with the 4-0 it was over.
“Tito Vilanova is very happy and he’ll be here for the next round of play.”
The result may put to a close an uncertain period for Barca, which has seen unsteady performances ever since the 2-0 first leg defeat at San Siro.
“The players are special. They were overly criticised and they responded. They played with intensity, commitment, and that should make us proud. I’m very pleased.
“And Messi? Leo gave us a majestic lesson of what it means to play football. He’s an extraordinary player, and when he’s surrounded by the best he has no limits.
“I’m not the most adequate person to judge Milan’s game. We knew how Milan were going to play and we tried to exploit that.
“It was very hard for them in the first 20 minutes of the match when we had control of the ball. I wouldn’t talk about Milan’s difficulties because they could have defeated us.
“It’s more about how we played than how they did. We’re going through to the next round because we kept a clean sheet.”
