A defeat against Alaves over the weekend for La Liga champions Barcelona has again set some tongues wagging. Luis Enrique, who has been at the club since 2014 played down talks of any rift in the dressing room and insisted that his side will be at full strength against Scottish side Celtic in the Champions League opener.
Reports of disagreement between player and coach about the selection of the team were reported by the Spanish website Diario Gol, and how some players were not happy at the receiving end of a talking down by the coach. Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Luis Enrique stated that "We talk after every game to correct things and to reinforce other aspects but what happens in those meetings is only important for the players and staff", as was reported by Spanish daily AS.
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Barcelona’s defeat at the weekend meant that this was their first loss this campaign and also their first defeat in the past 12 competitive fixtures. Having spent a sum of around €122,75 Million on new players over the summer, the club would have expected to win their fixture against newly promoted side Alaves.
The Spanish coach speaking ahead of their Champions League fixture instead chose to focus on Brendan Rodgers and praised the Scottish side’s free-scoring style. The coach also praised the history of the club and the current side which consists of youngster Dembele who hit a hat-trick against Rangers over the weekend.
Enrique also praised players such as Scott Sinclair and Patrick Roberts who he believed can trouble the Barcelona defence.
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Rodgers who had managed Luis Suarez before his move to Barcelona has been appreciated for his vision to play attractive football and taking the game to the opposition. At the weekend, Barcelona were caught out by the quick counter attacks of the Alaves team.
Enrique who has already led the club to league titles in the past two seasons in addition to the Copa Del Rey knows that he has little time to reflect on the mistakes made in the weekend. He insisted that the discussion was restricted to the airing of views and introspection is necessary for any squad to develop their game further.
The Barcelona squad hasn’t been able to field the trio of Neymar, Suarez and Messi this season due to scheduling and injury concerns of the players. The Argentine who missed out on the weekend defeat after a groin injury will hope to start this game.
