Luis Enrique left to bemoan Barcelona's woeful first-half display at Juventus
Wednesday 19 April 2017 23:45, UK
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique admits he will struggle to forget their first-half performance against Juventus in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
Paulo Dybala's double and a Giorgio Chiellini header in Turin left Barca with a near-impossible task and despite firing plenty of shots at Gianluigi Buffon's goal at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, the second leg ended goalless.
"I will remember what happened in the first half in the Juventus Stadium for a very long time," Luis Enrique told reporters.
"Our participation in this tournament this season has been unforgettable but we had a very poor first half in Turin and that has cost us dear.
"We tried with all our might, but we couldn't find the route to goal. We played a very poor first half in Turin and that has cost us dearly."
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Barca rattled up 19 shots at goal on Wednesday but only managed to test Buffon once as talisman Lionel Messi sent four shots off target.
Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Sergi Roberto hurried attempts to beat the experienced Italian goalkeeper which proved futile.
"We needed to be more calm and more lucid. We tried to do everything," added Luis Enrique, who will leave the club at the end of the season after three years in charge.
"We had a lot of shots on goal but only had one on target. We had a great attitude and made a huge effort so it's a shame," he added.
"We leave this game feeling sad but we can't blame anyone. We tried everything until the end and kept fighting to create chances but none of them went in.
"I'm annoyed we couldn't win the game because we tried with all our strength but we couldn't find the path to their goal."