Barcelona coach Luis Enrique praised his team's "heart" and "faith" but questioned the fans' early whistling after his players rallied to beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 at the Camp Nou in Tuesday night's Champions League Group E clash.
Bayer deservedly took a 1-0 lead when Kyriakos Papadopoulos headed in Hakan Calhanoglu's pinpoint corner and seemed set for a famous victory against a Barca side already missing injured superstar Lionel Messi and which then saw midfielder Andres Iniesta limp off.
But late goals from Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez changed things completely and Barca went top of a group while Roma were surprisingly beaten 3-2 at BATE Borisov in the other game.
Speaking after the game, the Blaugrana coach had some critical words for the Camp Nou crowd, which had seemed to whistle players including goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and defender Jeremy Mathieu when Barca were struggling at 1-0 down.
"This team deserves more credit and more faith," Luis Enrique said of a side which just a few months ago won the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey treble. "These players have earned that. Things can go better or worse for you, but they always run.
"I understand whistles if they do not run, but these players always do that. We needed more support at 0-1 down, less at 1-1, and at 2-1 it was needed.
"You can hear the whistles plenty down there, on the pitch. We did not deserve those whistles, they can whistle us at the end of the game, but not during it, a bit more confidence would be good for us."
Luis Enrique said that despite the difficult situation his players had not lost heart and the win in adversity would strengthen them a lot.
"I am very happy as the team did not lose faith at any moment," he said. "And in the end they have pulled off a victory which is very important for a group, as I said, that was not at all easy. This result will strengthen the group a lot.
"Sometimes in football you can win different ways. Sometimes through faith, sometimes through play, sometimes through heart, sometimes through being effective."
Barca had of course missed Messi - who is out for around two months with a knee injury picked up early against Las Palmas in La Liga last weekend.
"It was a difficult night," Luis Enrique added. "The second game without Messi, as he did not play [many minutes] against Las Palmas. We were again missing our best player, someone who everyone knows is irreplaceable, and have won both games.
"That speaks well of the team, against an opponent who would not less have even one easy ball, and scored through a set-piece. In the second half we were much better, more confident. I am happy with what we have achieved, we always give our best."
Iniesta joins a Barca sidelined list along with Messi and Rafinha, who will miss at least six months after suffering a cruciate ligament in the first Champions League game, a 1-1 draw at Roma. A quickly released club statement gave no expected return date, while saying the Spain international midfielder has a "thigh muscle injury in his right leg."
"The information about Iniesta saddens us, first for the player himself, and then because this [run of injuries] seems like a joke," Luis Enrique said. "It is another handicap for us, but we will show we are competitive. I am very happy for how the team reacted. The situation is not easy."