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Barcelona’s Self-Criticism Is First Step on Path to Correcting Celta Vigo Errors
- Updated: October 3, 2016
Was this Galicia or Rome?
After Barcelona were defeated in battle by a vicious, cobra-like Celta Vigo, Luis Enrique stood up and declared he was Spartacus.
No, I am Spartacus, said Sergio Busquets.
No, I am Spartacus, said Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Well, more or less, albeit in other words.
Barcelona went down 4-3 to Celta on a tumultuous, turbulent, tempestuous but above all thrilling night in Vigo, one riddled with errors from their perspective.
Mistakes permeated their game throughout, but especially the first half in which, after a good opening period, they conceded three goals in an 11-minute spell which killed them, or at least should have.
It is to Barcelona’s credit that they staged a fightback in the second half, clawing their way out from under the soil only to have Ter Stegen cave his team’s own head in with a shovel and dispatch them back to the grave, just when it seemed they had risen from the dead.
Luis Enrique’s apology came first.
“I’m the first person responsible for this defeat,” he said in his press conference after the game, per Sport. “We all lose and we all win, but when we lose I’m culpable first, the first who has to improve. I’m responsible for the rotations, and I’m the one who has to take the responsibility.”
As well as having Lionel Messi and Samuel Umtiti unavailable through injury, he decided this was the time to rest regular midfield duo Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic, as well as choosing Jeremy Mathieu over Javier Mascherano in defence. The Croatian has been left out of his national team’s squad for an Achilles problem, so that may not have been the coach’s choice.
Whether he was right or wrong to make these rotations is a tricky issue and one that will be discussed in the coming days.
However, to do so against an opponent that thrashed Barcelona 4-1 little over a year ago on this turf set off alarm bells. Furthermore, making the changes ahead of the international break was also curious.
Sport’s Lluis Mascaro was extremely unhappy with Luis Enrique’s dabbling, likening his experiments to the actions of a crackpot professor from a comic:
I was a big fan of TBO [a Spanish comic]. And of the crazy inventions of Professor Franz from Copenhagen. Surreal inventions. Because it was impossible that they could work. More or less what Luis Enrique is doing with his line ups. With one difference: the inventions in TBO were fun. Luis Enrique’s don’t bring any joy. Because they cost FC Barcelona …
