Luis Enrique says he feels “most responsible” for Barcelona’s 2-1 defeat to Alaves on Saturday in a damning verdict of his side’s performance.
Goals from Deyverson and Ibai Gomez gave newly-promoted Alaves a famous victory at Camp Nou as Barca fell three points behind Real Madrid after just the third matchday, prompting Enrique to describe what he saw as a “bad cocktail”.
“We were very fragile in defence, somewhere we’ve been very strong in other years, but we also lacked fluency and accuracy. It’s clear we were very slow and uninspired,” the Coach said after the game.
“We weren’t well positioned and didn’t occupy the spaces well throughout the first half.
“Alaves’ second goal really hurt us because it was the demonstration of our defensive frailties, preceded by a defensive error.
“We didn’t deserve to win and a draw was the most we could’ve got. It was like a bad cocktail.
“Still, we remain the favourites to win everything and we’ll go at breakneck speed in trying to do so.
“This defeat shows how difficult it is to win games, and credit must go to this team because we’ve won everything in recent years.”
Enrique’s decision to sanction seven changes was put forward as a reason for the disjointed nature of Barca’s display, but the Asturian made it clear he did not harbour any regrets.
“It is what it is. I’m the one most responsible and I accept it. Everything bad that happens is my fault, but hindsight is very easy to criticise,” he added.
“This season, we’re going to create something together, not only 11 players.
“It’s a match to learn from as there are many things to improve on, but the result is forgettable.
“We barely created any important chances, but Alaves did great work.”
