Barcelona coach Luis Enrique praised his side's "effectiveness" after their not-as-easy-as-the-scoreline-suggests 2-0 La Liga win over Valencia at the Camp Nou on Saturday afternoon.
Barca scored in the first minute through Luis Suarez and with the last kick of the game from Lionel Messi, while Valencia rued a missed penalty by midfielder Dani Parejo during a spell of almost total domination for the visitors in the first half.
The three points, however, kept Barca's lead in the Primera Division at two points, after Real Madrid defeated Malaga later on Saturday afternoon.
Asked at his post-match news conference if Barcelona's final scoreline was "unjust," Luis Enrique said that what mattered in football was taking your chances, not creating them.
"Unjust never," Luis Enrique said. "Victories are decided by what you do over 90 minutes. And effectiveness is very important in football. Without that it is difficult to win games.
"Valencia's best opportunity was a penalty saved well by Bravo, and they had many other chances. In the second half however we were the better team. So it is a fair result."
Luis Enrique did admit that Valencia's intensity and high-pressing game had caused Barca lots of problems during the opening 45 minutes.
"It was a different game than others we have played at Camp Nou," he said. "The start was marvellous for us, then we had problems coming through their pressure. They caused us a lot of problems, we made problems we usually do not make.
"The players are not robots, or machines, we were imprecise, made mistakes in passing and positioning. We found it hard to get out, and they had lots of chances, and deserved more."
A half-time change, when left-back Adriano Correia was replaced by midfielder Ivan Rakitic amid a general tactical reshuffle, had helped his team, Luis Enrique said.
"In the second half we restructured our play on the ball, we made some changes," he said. "Adriano had a yellow card, and they have fast players. It worked well for us, we were able to put together longer attacks, and bring game to place we wanted.
"We changed our shape a bit in second half, and it was easier to have a player free to receive the ball, and get it forward to our attackers. In football, often things happen that you have to improve."
Messi played superbly throughout, providing the assist for Suarez opener, and then finishing the game by scoring his 400th Barca goal. Luis Enrique did not however heap praise on the Argentine's display, although he did praise the hard work put in by all his forward line.
"Messi and the forwards showed solidarity with the team," he said. "They have given us what we always ask of them. Their help to defend."
Barca had done their "homework" now, Luis Enrique said, and challengers Madrid would have to win to keep pace, with one game less in the La Liga season.
"If we do our work, it is harder for those coming from behind," he said. "Above all against a team like Valencia, we saw how good they are in the first half. There are six games left to play, and lots of points up for grabs. We have done our work, now over to the others."
Luis Enrique was also asked if he were worried about his job for next season, given the possibility of former president Joan Laporta taking charge again at the Camp Nou and reinstalling ex-coach Pep Guardiola after the summer's presidential elections.
"I live the present with such intensity, that I do not worry about what might happen in 10 hours time," was the snap reply.
Speaking earlier in the Camp Nou press room, Valencia coach Nuno rejected any suggestion he should be happy with how his team had played, saying he was leaving "hurt and angry" at not having been able to get something from the game.
"We played a really good first half, with so many chances, so we are left sad, injured, angry, as we deserved more," Nuno said. "We went for the victory. So we feel screwed by this.
"We are not really thinking about being proud of our performance. We are mad. What matters is to win. The pressing we do takes a lot out of us. Our spirits dropped a bit in the second half, and also Barca put a lot of quality players like Messi, Rakitic, Xavi [Hernandez] and [Sergio] Busquets in midfield to hold possession. But we did some fantastic work."
