Schalke trainer Mirko Slomka was left bemoaning the amount of respect his side showed their Spanish opponents, which has given the Königsblauen an uphill task in the second leg.
A first half strike from teenage sensation Bojan Krkic handed Barcelona a 1-0 win at the Veltins Arena in the first leg of the quarter final, which puts the Catalans in a the driving seat ahead of the second leg at the Nou Camp next week.
Schalke rallied in the second half but never had the cutting edge to find a way back into the game.
“When you play against Barcelona, you have to have respect” Slomka admitted. “But I never thought that we would show that much respect.
“In the second half we had a number of quality chances, which we were unfortunately unable to take.
“We warned the players against situations like the one that led to their opening goal. Manuel Neuer sadly didn’t hold the ball, but it was a whole series of errors which gifted them the goal.”
Striker Gerald Asamoah agreed with his trainer’s assessment but is still holding on to a glimmer of hope ahead of the second leg in Spain.
“We showed far too much respect in the first half” he admitted. “We should have put pressure on them from the start.
“Unfortunately it didn’t work out tonight with a goal for us. We were unlucky to lose, but still have hope for the return leg.
“If there wasn’t hope, there would be no point in going there” Asamoah added.
Goal.com - Schalke - Slomka: We Showed Too Much Respect