Beaten Barca need another miracle
Dybala’s brace for Juve in quarterfinal firstleg leaves Enrique’s side needing a comeback just like the one against PSG
Outgoing Barcelona coach Luis Enrique turned on his misfiring stars after “reliving a nightmare” with his side’s 3-0 humbling by Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.
A first-half double from Paulo Dybala and a second-half header from Giorgio Chiellini secured a win for the hosts on Tuesday to leave Barca with a mountain to climb in the April 19 return leg.
Barca produced the biggest Champions League comeback of all time in the last 16, overturning a 4-0 first leg deficit by scoring three times in a crazy final 10 minutes to beat the French champions 6-1.
However, a downcast and visibly angry Enrique said he found it “harder to believe in a comeback” than even the night in Paris that precipitated his decision to step down at the end of the season eight weeks ago.
“The first-half was a disaster, like it was the third half of the PSG game,” said Enrique, who then took an out of character shot at the Barca players’ attitude.
“I haven’t been able to transmit my ideas well to my players because that was nothing like what I asked for. I feel very sad and impotent. What we saw was very serious.
“The positioning with the ball is my responsibility, but without it the intensity has to be different.”
ENRIQUE FRUSTRATED
Enrique was filmed banging a table in his dugout in anger after watching a replay of Dybala’s second goal in the first 22 minutes.
In a recurring theme of Barca’s season Chiellini then exposed a weakness from set-pieces to add Juventus’ third just after half-time.
“Crucified,” ran the headline of Barca daily Sport alongside a picture of Enrique.
“Very sad. Very serious,” said the front cover of its rival Mundo Deportivo.
Enrique’s announcement that he would not be renewing his contract a week after defeat in Paris appeared to have released the bubbling tension between players and coach as Barca’s improved form provoked dreams of the possibility of a second treble in three seasons .
Indeed, after Saturday’s 1-1 draw between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, Barca had the La Liga title race back in their own hands. However, they kicked off a disastrous three days with a shock 2-0 defeat at Malaga to once again hand Real the initiative in the title race in which Neymar saw his first red card for the club.
Barca’s hopes of a third
straight Spanish title depend on winning that match, but defeat in Turin was just a continuation of the Catalans’ poor away form this season.
AWAY BLUES
They have now been beaten five
times on the road in 2017 and have conceded at least three goals in three of their last four Champions League games away from home.
Producing another remarkable comeback against a Juventus defence that has conceded just twice in seven Champions
League games this season seems even more unlikely than Barcelona’s historic feat against a buoyant PSG.
Yet, as bad as they have been away from the Camp Nou, the force of nearly 100,000 fans and a front three of Lionel Messi, Luis
Suarez and Neymar means Juventus will not relish their trip to Catalonia in a weeks’ time.
If there is any hope for Barca to cling to, it is that they have won all of four Champions League fixures at home this season by a combined 21 goals to one.
SEVILLA THREATEN ACTION OVER SAMPAOLI
La Liga side Sevilla said Wednesday they are prepared to take legal action against the Argentine Football Association (AFA) over their plans to poach coach Jorge Sampaoli.
Edgardo Bauza was sacked as national team boss on Monday as the two-time world champions risk missing out on the World Cup next year as they sit fifth in the 10-team South American qualifying group.
New AFA president Claudio Tapia announced his intention to travel to Spain to meet with potential candidates for the job including Sampaoli and Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone.
“Sevilla FC has today sent a letter to the AFA in which it states that, in the case of these comments being true, Sevilla FC would consider it a lack of respect,” Sevilla said in a statement.