Luis Enrique rued Barcelona’s “countless” mistakes in their 3-1 defeat to Manchester City but insisted his side played “scandalously well” in the first half.
Another Lionel Messi goal against City gave Barca the lead, until confusion between Sergi Roberto and Sergio Busquets allowed City to equalise just before half-time and subsequently run away with both the second period and a first victory over the Catalans for Pep Guardiola.
“We played the first 40 minutes scandalously well, spectacular even, among the best I’ve seen,” the Coach said after the game.
“This isn’t about pushing a button and that a can of Coca Cola comes out.
“If you turned off the TV after those 40 minutes, you’d have believed that we would beaten them heavily.
“However, we made a serious and clear mistake and from there we went into a tailspin.
“The first goal left me with a strange feeling, I don’t know how to define it. From there, we committed a countless number of mistakes, without possession of the ball and the right decisions when bringing the ball out from the back. Their second goal was also completely avoidable.
“If Andre Gomes took his chance, which was a very good one, we’d have been at 2-2 and it certainly would’ve changed the course of the game.
“If we want to top our [Champions League] group, we must pick up four points in our next two games.”
