Lucho: No Messi explanation!

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique refused to let the Press “skew” his words on Lionel Messi’s substitution against Athletic Bilbao.

Messi was surprisingly brought off after an hour of Barca’s 3-0 win against Athletic on Sunday, but while Sport has since reported that Enrique wanted to give the No 10 some rest, the Coach made it clear “I have the pen this time”.

“Messi? I don’t want to comment on this because you’re going to take my words and skew them, but I have the pen this time,” he said after the game.

“I don’t want to feed this kind of controversy. It is what it is. I’ll leave you in uncertainty.

“Both Leo and Alcacer were brutal when applying pressure. This pressure is key for us because the whole team are aware that if we want to win something, we have to attack and defend.

“Alcacer? The truth is that I was happier for this goal of his than the ones I scored a long time ago.

“I’m glad because he’s a player that I have much empathy for, for his character and desire to improve, even when things aren’t going very well.

“This goal will surely come in very handy for him and the team.”

Tags Athletic Bllbao Lionel Messi Luis Enrique
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