Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has himself been on the pitch in the past where his Barcelona side has lost games against lesser known teams. Saturday was one such occasion where the Catalans lost a league game against a newly promoted Deportivo Alaves side 2-1.
The defeat came at a time when the manager had rested his star players, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, for the mid-week Champions League clash against Celtic. The Spaniard had taken his chances against an inexperienced but determined Alaves side as he gave debuts to the likes of goalkeeper Jasper Cilessen and striker Paco Alcacer. Enrique also played some new players in Aleix Vidal and Lucas Digne who replaced Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto in the starting XI.
However, as the manager took his team out to the training pitch on Sunday morning, he knew that he did not have to go through a full tactics based lecture to his players and understood the need of the hour. According to reports published in Sport English, the Spaniard spoke to his team about how they should keep their calm as such situations do arise over the course of a season. Enrique also stated that he has full confidence in the players he who featured in the loss.
The report also mentions that the manager told his players that he “needs all the players to win titles”. The 46-year old did not point out the numerous errors which were made by his players during the game and instead focussed on improving the confidence of the team for the games ahead.
Also read: Barcelona 1-2 Alaves - 5 talking Points
The manager decided not to individualise any player in his pep talk and made it easier for the players to enjoy their training session, focussing on improving on the errors which were committed during the defeat. Enrique has been managing the Blaugrana for the past two seasons and in his eight years of being a manager, he has surely learned a trick of two about managing a team to glory.
It was not the first time that Enrique has used such tactics to improve the confidence and body language of his side. The Barcelona boss has seen his side slump to defeats in the past and has always made sure that his players return to the pitch in prime form. Barcelona will be eyeing all the titles within their reach this season and with a squad like this, Enrique has been confident that he can do it.
The manager had previously said that this is the best squad that he has had as a coach in his 8-year old managerial career and the Champions League tie against Celtic would be an important tie for the La Liga champions.
