Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova defended the decision to field Lionel Messi over the weekend after the Argentine was forced to sit out Wednesday's 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal.

The Germans' 7-0 aggregate victory was Barca's worst European defeat, and although Vilanova recognized the World Player of the Year's recurring hamstring injury had played its part in the Catalans' dismantling, he denied that their dependence on him has grown substantially this season.

"He played in Bilbao on Saturday (when Barca drew 2-2) because he felt better. He imprinted a change on the team but at the end of the game he felt some strange sensations," Vilanova said.