Barcelona slumped to their third defeat in seven league games as they lost away to Valladolid 1-0. PHOTO: AFP
Barca turned in one of their worst performances since the Argentine took over on Saturday and the shock 1-0 La Liga defeat at lowly Real Valladolid opened the way for Real Madrid to stretch their lead at the top.
Although the Catalan giants dominated possession as usual, they squandered what few genuine chances they managed to create against ultra-defensive opponents, with Lionel Messi and Neymar the main culprits.
Barca were a shadow of the team that blazed a trail in Spain and Europe under Pep Guardiola.
“We lacked what makes us Barca,” said Martino at a news conference.
“We had very few chances of actually running at goal and we almost always had to fight against 10 defenders. A good solution would have been creating more space.”
Meanwhile, Barca fullback Dani Alves acknowledged that Saturday’s result was ‘very negative’ but insisted he and his teammates would ‘fight until the end’.
“It’s hard to win the league if you don’t take the three points week in and week out,” the Brazil international told reporters. “However, there isn’t time for complaints; we have to keep on fighting.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 10th, 2014.
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