Thursday 29 January 2015 08:49, UK
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique says he had to substitute Neymar to prevent the Brazilian from being injured as their Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg at Atletico Madrid turned nasty.
The Catalan side went through 4-2 on aggregate after coming from behind twice to win 3-2 on the night as Diego Simeone’s side were reduced to nine men, and were lucky not to be more harshly punished when Arda Turan was only booked for throwing his boot at an assistant referee.
Neymar, who netted twice in the victory, had a confrontation with Fernando Torres, an altercation which appeared to be the last straw for Enrique who quickly removed him from the fray.
"The moment arrived when the game had got ugly and we took off Neymar so it didn't get any more heated," said Enrique.
"Players ought to be intelligent and know that they are fellow professionals.
"Neymar showed the attitude he always does. He is a player with a lot of confidence and helps us all in all phases of the game. Today he was outstanding.”
Neymar had already put Atletico's hopes of reaching the last four in doubt well before he was replaced by Pedro Rodriguez 13 minutes from time.
The Brazilian levelled with his 20th goal of the season after Fernando Torres had brought Atletico level in the tie with a first minute opener.
Raul Garcia then briefly put Atletico back in front from the spot, but Miranda's own goal made it 2-2 before Neymar pounced again on the counter-attack three minutes before the break.
Atletico captain Gabi was then sent off at half-time and Mario Suarez was also dismissed as the Spanish champions completely lost their heads after the break.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone defended his players despite referee Jesus Gil Manzano showing six yellow cards and two reds to his side during a tempestuous 90 minutes at the Vicente Calderon.
Simeone said: "I feel proud of my players. In the first half they were extraordinary and showed an incredible fight.
"It was very difficult to attack because the ball was bobbling all the time. Barcelona played on the counter-attack, which is rare for them and they did it very well.
"In the second half due to my decision the team played as you saw, without taking any risks so that they didn't score.
"I tried to do the best for my club and my players. We played the most convenient way for us. I am the coach and it is what I thought was the right thing to do."
