Valencia forward Santi Mina has said that tensions were high after the club's 2-1 victory over Barcelona on Sunday and acknowledged that something was thrown in the tunnel after the game.
The loss means Barca have now picked up just one point from their last four league games. After the match, Barcelona forward Neymar appeared to have slapped Valencia right-back Antonio Barragan in the handshake line.
Minutes later, Neymar tossed a water bottle in the tunnel that hit Barragan in the back, according to a report in AS.
Mina acknowledged that something was thrown in the tunnel.
"I know that something flew. I saw it, but I dodged it and got inside to celebrate the win," Mina said on Monday. "There was a lot of tension during the match. Barca are playing for the title in La Liga."
The 20-year-old acknowledged that Brazilian rival Neymar played with much passion.
"I don't know whether he knows how to lose," Mina said. "He is a great player. You only have to watch him on the field to know it. These are moments of great tension, there are scuffles in the game and I think we should leave it on the pitch. Antonio, for us, is a great defender and yesterday he was perfect and I am happy with his performance."
Provocação? Neymar dá tapa em adversário após derrota do Barcelona para o Valencia https://t.co/vs7G03Cgxi pic.twitter.com/pGNcoch0FZ
- Mundo ESPN (@ESPNagora) April 18, 2016
Barragan and Neymar had several scuffles during Sunday's match, which added to existing tension that began during Barcelona's 7-0 win over Valencia in Copa del Rey play this past February. According to media reports, Neymar told the right-back during the Copa del Rey match that "you should shut up. I make 10 times what you make."
On Sunday, Valencia fans reportedly taunted Neymar, but Mina said there was no incident and that the back-and-forth commentary was part of the game.
"Barcelona had the ball most of the minutes. Football consists of that. We had a mission. And we didn't care whether they had the ball because we were going to take advantage of our chances. With the ball we know how to play with what we had," he said.