København delight after forcing Barcelona draw

Ståle Solbakken spoke of his immense pride after FC København held on for a superb 1-1 draw at home to an FC Barcelona side "full of global stars". Exhausted global stars, said Spanish counterpart Josep Guardiola, who admitted that in "two and a half years in charge of Barcelona we have never come up against a physically stronger team".

Ståle Solbakken, København coach
We were on a par with the best team in the world for large parts of the match: a draw against a side full of global stars was certainly was not unmerited. I'm really proud of the lads: they covered a lot of ground and they had the courage to hold on to the ball.

We had a lot of opportunities on the counterattack to nick another goal, but overall it was a complete performance. We have put ourselves in a strong position, but a difficult match against a desperate Rubin team awaits.

Josep Guardiola, Barcelona coach
We played exceptionally well in the first half. But in my two and a half years in charge of Barcelona we have never come up against a physically stronger team as this one. I'm extremely satisfied with the performance. We defended very well, especially against FCK's long throws.

Right now the players are sitting in the dressing room exhausted. They have all turned in terrific performances. We gave a lot tonight but the Champions League is extremely demanding; so hard. We had control, defended well but we were missing a little cutting edge at key moments. In general though, I leave here satisfied.