Luis Enrique Takes '101 Percent' Responsibility for Barcelona's Loss to Juventus

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has said he takes "101 per cent" responsibility for his side's "nightmare" performance during the 3-0 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League quarter-final first leg in Turin last night, per ESPN FC. 

"A coach does everything to help the team and prepare them, but evidently I did not," he said, per ESPN FC. "We have to improve, learn from these mistakes, analyse the game carefully and realise where we went wrong."

Two first-half goals from Argentinian striker Paulo Dybala put Juve in a commanding position by the interval, before a header from veteran centre-back Giorgio Chiellini sealed a humiliating result for the visitors at the Juventus Stadium. Highlights of the action have been made available by BT Sport on Twitter:

Enrique was left frustrated by the similarity between Barca's poor start on Tuesday and their first-leg result in the previous round, when they lost 4-0 to Paris Saint-Germain on Feb. 14.

"It was a difficult first half, very similar to the one in Paris and the second was much better," Luis Enrique said, per ESPN FC. "If you gift the first half, then obviously you're going to have problems."

And the Barca manager, who is set to leave the club this summer as he needs a "rest," per Ed Aarons for the Guardian, made it clear that he is to blame.

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"It's not good to pick on single players after a defeat. It's a defeat for the whole team, starting with the coach," he said, per ESPN FC. "The feelings as manager are lamentable, and it's difficult to explain. [The] positioning was a shipwreck, I wasn't able to transmit it well."

Enrique was keen to appear optimistic, although some of his comments betrayed an underlying sense of personal defeat as his time at the Camp Nou draws to a close.

"I don't have any energy to think about it now, but tomorrow will be the moment to pick ourselves up again and think about getting three goals to level the tie and four to win it," he added. "Even though I am optimistic, it's natural I also pass through moments when I grieve. I am 100 per cent responsible and that's difficult."

A comeback is far from impossible, of course, with Barca having already produced a remarkable turnaround against PSG in March. However, a second successive miracle remains an improbable outcome, and it is now highly likely that Enrique will end his Barca tenure with a solitary Champions League title to his name. 

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