Tata Martino believes Barcelona’s draw away at Atletico Madrid is a good result.
Martino added that Atletico represent one of the most difficult opponents in the League and he was wary of Barca leaving too much space in defence and allowing Atleti to counter-attack.
“Everyone has trouble with Atletico,” Martino told reporters.
“You don’t get many scoring chances against Atletico and when we did have some, the goalkeeper responded well.
“It’s important to note we wanted to win the game without leaving Atletico options on the counter.
“A draw is fine. I think 50 points in the first half of the season is a very good figure.”
Regarding Lionel Messi and Neymar, who were both substitutes, Martino said: “My job is to make decisions and this was for the best.
“We shouldn’t forget that Messi was inactive for 60 days.
“Neymar had an upset stomach and hasn’t trained like his teammates.
“It could have gone right or wrong but it seemed prudent to start without them.”
Martino also rejected the suggestion that topping the table at the half-way point of the season was something to be proud of.
“Don’t talk to me about winter champions. I’d rather be champion of summer.”
