The Malayan Tigers performed well against the Catalan giants.
Malaysia coach Datuk K. Rajagopal praised his players for their performance in the 3-1 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday.
Barca had romped to victory in their previous two friendly matches, scoring 15 times, and were expected to feast on another glut of goals at the Shah Alam Stadium in the second game of their Asia Tour.
But they were prevented from recording another crushing scoreline by the Malayan Tigers, who memorably scored through Amri Yahyah in the 40h minute, and Rajagopal feels his side should be commended for keeping the scoreline respectable.
“My boys played to instructions and discipline against Barcelona, who are arguably the strongest club in the world,” the former international said to The Star.
“Despite a slow start in the first half, we did well to create a few scoring chances and could have taken the lead in the 15th minute.
“Everyone thought that we would lose by a big margin but we proved them wrong. I am happy with my players’ performance as we did well to score against them.”
Despite the loss Malaysia can take solace from their display ahead of the crucial Asian Cup qualifying round Group D match against Bahrain on October 15.
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