Luis Enrique Says Barcelona's Performance vs. Sociedad Was 'Worst' of His Reign

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique said his team's 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad was the worst performance of his managerial reign, adding it was the "first time I've seen a team walk all over us."

The 46-year-old watched on as Barca rode their luck against Sociedad, who had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside and also hit the woodwork twice during the game.

The result left Barca in second place in La Liga, six points behind Real Madrid ahead of the Clasico between the two sides at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Luis Enrique, who has been in charge at the club since 2014, said, per BBC Sport: "This is the first time I've seen a team walk all over us since I became coach. If we look at the result, it is the best of the season. The opponents were far superior."

Lionel Messi's second-half reply to a Willian Jose strike earned the point for Barcelona, but Luis Enrique was far from impressed and said it was a miracle his side were still in the game at the interval.

Per Sport, he said:

"

They've not allowed us to string five passes together, they pressed us as and when they wanted, they won all the battles and you have to say that to be goalless at halftime was a miracle.

In the second half we improved a little, but not enough. We got back into the game through an isolated moment between [Lionel] Messi and Neymar, but there was little else.

"

Luis Enrique will have to galvanise his side to find a positive response against Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the campaign.

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Real have made a storming start to the season and are unbeaten in their 13 games, with six wins on the bounce. The omens do not look good for Barca at home, where they have already dropped seven points in the league, as noted by Spanish football expert Guillem Balague for Sky Sports.

Balague highlighted a key problem for Barcelona has been an overreliance on the front three of Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. He said: "They've only gone five games without conceding this season, and the second line aren't adding a lot—Denis Suarez, Arda Turan, Lucas Digne, Paco Alcacer and Andre Gomes all have to improve."

There is arguably a case to answer for those players in the shadow of the famous three at Barca, and they will need to shape up for the clash against Madrid.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

At times this season, it has looked like opposition teams may have worked Barcelona out. Their approach relies so heavily on possession-based football and finding the gaps for Messi et al. to work their magic, it can be argued their style has become a touch too predictable.

Luis Enrique is presiding over Barca's worst start to a season in more than a decade, per Samuel Marsden of ESPN FC. On the other hand, Madrid are flying under the guidance of Zinedine Zidane at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Saturday's win over Sporting Gijon was their sixth in a row and showed they have fully recovered from three successive draws in their first few matches of the 2016/17 season.

In contrast to Barca's woes, Los Blancos—as ever spearheaded by the goals of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has struck five in his last two matches—appear to be a more-rounded unit in La Liga so far.

The emergence of Mateo Kovacic has also been a boost for Zidane.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

His straightforward use of short, simple passes and combative approach have provided good balance in the Madrid midfield, particularly helpful to the side in the absence of Toni Kroos, and at times Luka Modric, to injury.

An intriguing statistic ahead of the opening Clasico is that Real are on an unbeaten run of 31 matches and are closing in on the all-time club record of 34 set by the 1988/89 side, per Santiago Siguero of Marca.

The last encounter at the Camp Nou ended in a 2-1 victory for Real in April, and the form book suggests a similar outcome this time around.