Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard dished out praise for his players following the1-0 away victory over Italian giants AC Milan in the first-leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. "It was a very important result and I want to congratulate all the players," Rijkaard said in a press conference following Tuesday's game at the Giuseppe Meazza. We were playing at a tough venue against a top team and it wasn't easy," the Dutch manager said. French midfielder Ludovic Giuly's strike in the 57th minute gave Barcelona a 1-0 away win over AC Milan on Tuesday and moved the Spanish champions closer to the UCL final. "It was an interesting game. The players did well. Milan also had their chances but Ronaldinho's pass was great and Giuly finished it off to perfection", said Rijkaard.
"It was a very important result and I want to congratulate all the players. We were playing at a tough venue against a top team and it wasn't easy. Rijkaard, looking for his first European title since taking charge of the Catalans' giants, warned his side not to get carried away with the victory as Milan have everything to play for in the return-leg at the Nou Camp. "This team has been playing at a very high level for quite some time. It is important to win these games, turn over the page, and wait and see what comes next," he said. "But we need to keep working seriously, because we have only won the first game. I am happy with the win, but we can't start talking about a leap in quality. "Just speak about what I see on the pitch. The companionship and talent in this squad is more important than anything else," he added.
