Baraja: “I would like to know why VAR wasn’t checked”

Valencia CF coach Rubén Baraja analysed the 1-0 defeat to FC Barcelona on LaLiga Matchday 24 at the Camp Nou.

His view of the match

We leave here empty handed. I can't be happy when we leave here with zero points. Today we had an opportunity to continue picking up points and give continuity to game that we had against Real Sociedad game. At times the team had situations to go level, but we didn’t have the shot in the final metres. The team has worked well, we were alive in the game, we had our chances and it’s a shame that we come away with nothing.

The penalty appeal by Fran Pérez

We have been able to see the footage and there is a contact. The assessment is that there is contact and then the interpretation is up to the referee to decide -and he decided that there was no penalty. We cannot go into it, because it is their assessment.

It's like the penalty given against us for handball by Hugo. There is a very fine line between getting it right and wrong. What surprised me was that they didn’t consider the possibility of checking VAR, as they did the other day at Mestalla. That means that we don’t know how they do things in such situations. The contact is there, then we need to see if they call a penalty or not, which depends on the referee and VAR. Them not looking at it surprised me.

VAR

We have to be aware that there are some situations that are interpretative and if the referee decides that it is not a penalty, he will have his reasons. What I want to see is that this action, as on other occasions, is assessed, reviewed, looked at and looked at again -and this time the referee was very quick to award a corner when there was contact. These types of decisions can help you score points, get into the game and reward the work that you have done. We leave empty-handed and with the feeling that this action could have been called in another way.

A positive response

We tried to stay in the game and we had chances, but when you have situations and you don't score, you are up against it. They scored from their first chance. We had some clear chances like that for Samu Lino, but the ball didn’t go in.

We modified things after the sending off to have more players near the final third, because we dominated the game and we had two or three clear chances - but if you don’t finish them off, you cannot score points.

We have to insist on the continuity of the work that we did against Real Sociedad, add to that the positives from today and believe that the next game is the most important. This one had already been and gone. We had our chances and we competed, but we lacked the finishing that determines the result.

The next game at Mestalla is vital in every way.

Refereeing errors

These types of situations have been repeated and this type of thing affects your season, but there are certain things that are not in our power. It’s a question of decisions and interpretations. I would have liked to know why the action was not reviewed.

My job right now is to focus on the important thing, which is my team. The circumstances could have been different and that chance giving us to opportunity to equalise was evident, but it’s done now and we are thinking about the next games. When it is repeated throughout a season, that affects you.

Chances

The team tried to keep the ball that we were a man up and looked for crosses. We had some chances and shots, but it all depends on your finishing. The important thing is to generate chances and be consistent. The day will come when we put those chances away and add points.

The most important thing is that with the difficulties we had and the absences we had, and with Barça scoring from their first chance, the team remained consistent.

Numerical superiority

When you attack with an extra man you have to have more patience, go outside and put crosses in. Sometimes we rushed and Barça defended well, they closed up at the back and defended the crosses and balls inside.

The important thing is that we looked for solutions to be more offensive, we changed the team and we created chances to finish the game with an opportunity to equalise.

Cavani

We need everyone in the team to be ready and prepared to compete, and from there we have injuries and different situations. Edinson is a player that we need to return, but with the peace of mind that he is fit. He taking things steadily in terms of the injury, so that when he returns he will be fine and when he comes into the team he can perform at his best.

Jesus Vazquez and Fran Perez

We need all the players. Today we had several situations to assess. The two central defenders who played against Real Sociedad were on 4 yellow cards. Cenk and Eray came on and they competed well. Fran Pérez has self-confidence and gave us things, and Jesús is a player who, despite having things to improve, gave us a great feeling. They are young players of 19 and 20 years of age. We have to give them minutes, but knowing the situation we are in. They are players who have been working well and can complement us in games and stages. There are many games left and we need everyone ready.

Pressure

We had good phases of passing to have more of the ball, but against Barça if you don't adjust and pay attention to the movements in the spaces between the lines, they find ways through with players of such quality. The team worked hard, understood and adjusted.

We finished the first half well and in the second the sending off changed everything. We tried to finish off with our two strikers but we couldn't find the net.