Perfect fifteen Vilanova’s only concern

Only one thing is troubling Tito Vilanova right now, and that’s Granada. He doesn’t want to hear a word about the clásico against Real Madrid on October 7. “What I’m concerned about is getting 15 points out of 15, something that hasn’t been done very often” he said. And although they are at home against a side that hasn’t won yet this season, “people shouldn’t think that it will be an easy match, because they are a well organised team, very strong on the counter attack and good at strategy”.

Not forcing anybody

Neither does Tito Vilanova think it would be a good idea to rush the recoveries of Puyol and Piqué in order for them to be ready for the showdown with Madrid. “As long as I am coach, we’ll never force a player into being ready for a match, because the most important thing is their health”.

Asked about the possible options to cover for Puyol and Piqué against Granada, one of the names that came up was that of Marc Bartra. Said Vilanova, “if Bartra is in the first team it’s because he’s good enough to play. The season has only just started and Marc will get games”.

No debate about Cesc

Vilanova didn’t want to get involved in any questioning of Cesc’s form. “If there’s any debate, I know nothing about it” he said. “In my mind, there’s no debating him. He has had some great games as a central midfielder and I don’t know what’s so bad about a player being a bit anarchic. Sometimes you need that to break down defences”.