Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard praised the ‘attitude' shown by his players in the 1-0 win over Mallorca in the Primera Liga on Saturday. "We've won three points thanks to the attitude of the group in fighting until the end," Rijkaard said in the press conference after the game. An 89th minute own goal from Mallorca defender Fernando Navarro sent the Catalans on top of the Spanish Primera Liga with a comfortable 4-point gap with Sevilla who lost 2-0 at Valencia. Rijkaard was delighted with his players' determination to recover from last week's defeat at Zaragoza. "The players demonstrated how to react following a loss, in this sense; we've won three important points from a morale point of view." The Dutchman did admit his team has played better games, but highlighted the fact that Mallorca were worthy opponents.
Rijkaard "We were playing against a team which gets results away from home. "It's true it hasn't been the best game and the rhythm was slow, however, you have to take into account that we were playing against a very organized team," he said. Rijkaard was quick to praise the individual performance contributed by his goalkeeper Victor Valdes who saved a first-half penalty from Mallorca's Jonas Gutierrez. "Valdes was very determined in this game. His actions helped the team enormously," he added. Rijkaard also commented on the impact demonstrated by his three substitutes Xavi, Juliano Belletti and Javier Saviola who had a huge role in the winning goal. "They changed the game, they came on and did exactly what they had to do." "In Saviola's case, he was the key in causing Navarro to deflect the ball into his own net."
