Barcelona coach Luis Enrique defended his attacker Neymar after the Brazilian scored twice in Wednesday's 3-2 Copa del Rey quarterfinal second-leg at Atletico Madrid.
Neymar coolly netted two goals during a frenetic, back-and-forth first half at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, and was then involved in a confrontation with Atletico's Fernando Torres on the way to the tunnel at half-time.
Atletico captain Gabi, who was sent off for something said to referee Jesus Gil Manzano at the break, later suggested on Spanish TV that the Brazilian had provoked a reaction by showing a mocking attitude towards his opponents.
At his post-match press conference the blaugrana coach dismissed such concern, saying it had taken bravery for the 22-year-old to play his usual game and express himself in such a difficult game.
"[Neymar] had the same attitude as always, with a lot of self-confidence and he brought us a lot in attack and defence," he said. "His style of play is to dribble and today he put in a standout performance. He understands football that way, nobody will change him, and we like that he is brave."
The Asturian did admit that to avoid any further problems he had decided to substitute his number 11, who has scored 21 goals in 25 games this season in all competitions, during the second half.
"There came a moment when the match had got a bit ugly, and we took off Neymar so that it would not get more heated," said Luis Enrique, who was no stranger to such on-pitch confrontations during his own playing days. "Professional players should be intelligent and know they are all colleagues. You must be careful, as this seemed like something else."
Atletico finished the game with nine men, after Mario Suarez was also sent off for a second yellow. There were 15 cards in total shown during the game. Ref Gil Manzano also seemed to err in awarding the penalty converted by Raul Garcia to put Diego Simeone's side 2-1 ahead on the night, and then again in not seeing a handball by Jordi Alba close to goal with the score at 2-2.
Luis Enrique suggested that perhaps the occasion had affected the performance of the official, who at just 30 years old has only been refereeing in Spain's top flight since 2012.
"There is a lot on the line, in pressure and tension, it is difficult for the referee," he said.
The Barca boss also admitted that his team had done well to register a third win over Atletico in three meetings during January 2015, however he remembered no trophies had been secured yet.
"They are an incredible team and Simeone is doing great work, winning trophies in a spectacular way," he said. "In these moments we have been able to keep our good run going. But if you do not win trophies."