LONDON • Barcelona will not be knocked off course by their 3-1 defeat at Manchester City despite being outplayed in the second half by Pep Guardiola's fired-up side, the Catalan club's manager Luis Enrique said.
The Spanish champions are second in La Liga, two points behind arch-rivals Real Madrid and face a testing game on Sunday at high-flying Sevilla, who are a point behind them, with Enrique declaring they would not dwell on the City defeat.
"We have to get up and keep going. We never sit back when we win and we don't sink when we lose. Defeats are everyone's responsibility, above all the coach's, and we're going to keep getting better," he said.
Barca suffered scathing criticism from the Catalan press for their collapse at the Etihad stadium, with the daily Sport declaring that "Barca got themselves into a twist" and "threw away a game that was half won, overpowered by City's intensity".
Mundo Deportivo, meanwhile, likened Barca's surrender in the second half, after they took an early lead, to a power cut.
Enrique was unmoved.
"This is how it is, this isn't a drinks machine where you hit a button and a can of Coke comes out. If anyone turned their TV off after 40 minutes they wouldn't have believed we lost the game," the Spaniard said after their first Group C loss.
Barca remain on top of Group C on nine points, two ahead of City.
A win in one of their remaining games against Celtic or Borussia Monchengladbach would see them qualify for the last 16, while four points will ensure they win the group.
REUTERS
