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Luis Enrique Believes Barcelona Deserved A Draw vs. Athletic

By Laieke Abebe

July 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique speaks to bench players as they watch game action against Los Angeles Galaxy during the second half at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
July 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique speaks to bench players as they watch game action against Los Angeles Galaxy during the second half at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Barcelona boss Luis Enrique believes that his team deserved a draw despite losing 2-1 to Athletic Bilbao.

Barcelona lost 2-1 to Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their round of 16 Copa Del Rey tie on Thursday at the San Mames. Athletic were reduced to nine men due to two red cards given. Despite that, they managed to hold Barca’s attack in check. However, a Lionel Messi free kick goal gave Barca a much better chance in the second leg. The away goal was vital, but it was overshadowed by the overall performance of the team. Lucho was asked about his thoughts after the match ended.

“The goal gave us a lot of oxygen, although we deserved to equalize from all the chances we created,” Lucho said after the match. “But we were missing accuracy over the final meters. We struggled early on, and they made the most of two poor clearances from us. Two quick turnovers, and high pressure actions once they had the ball to move two goals up.”

In addition, the Barca boss would go onto say, “The return leg won’t be easy. We have to make sure we don’t concede at home and have to score ourselves.” It was the worst possible scenario but we managed to gain control after the break. The second half was an example of what we need to do as a team. Athletic stayed loyal to their methods. It was high-pressure football and they always know how to cause problems”

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“In the first half, we managed to get into their area without creating any really clear-cut chances,” he said. “And the half couldn’t have ended worse with us getting all those cards. The mood changed in the second half, we deserved a lot more, whether or not we were playing against nine men. Athletic make you change the way you bring the ball out of defense. You need to find such solutions to deal with games like these. Athletic put so much pressure on you that you need to limit the number of passes, make sure your well-positioned and play with intensity.”

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Overall, the post match thoughts of the Barca boss were spot on in most areas. Lucho is right that the second leg will not be easy despite the match being played in the Camp Nou. Athletic have played Barca very well over the years and it didn’t change on Thursday. The boss will have to make some adjustments to help the team be more successful in the second leg. If he doesn’t act fast, Barca’s run as Copa Del Rey champions could come to an end. We’ll see what Luis Enrique does with the team when January 11th rolls around.