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La Liga: Enrique takes the blame as newly-promoted Alaves stun Barcelona

Speed News Desk | Updated on: 10 February 2017, 1:46 IST

Spanish giants Barcelona were left red-faced on 11 September after suffering a shock 1-2 defeat at the hands of newly-promoted Deportivo Alaves in their La Liga encounter at Camp Nou.

Alaves took the lead first when striker Brum Silva Acosta turned the ball home after Kiko Femenia's great cross from the right-hand side in the 36th minute of the match.

Just a minute after the half- break, midfielder Jeremy Mathieu equalized the score for Barcelona by heading a corner from Neymar, the Mirror reported.

It was in the 64th minute of the game when Ibai Gomez put Alaves back in front after a poor clearance by Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano.

Barcelona, who stumbled to an embarrassing first defeat of the season, will now lock horns with Leganes on 17 September.

'Head of all the bad things at Barcelona'

Taking the blame for his side's shocking 1-2 defeat at the hands of recently-promoted Alaves, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has pointed out that a number of changes in the squad led to the present circumstances.

Admitting that his side were inaccurate during the La Liga match in Camp Nou, Enrique said he hopes the defeat would serve as a learning curve for Barcelona.

"I am the head of all the bad things that happen. Many of the changes were a result of circumstances that surround us. I try to get the best out of all my team," the Spaniard was quoted as saying by Goal.com.

Congratulating Alaves for the victory, the 46-year-old coach admitted that their opponents had sprung a tactical surprise during the match.

"It all pointed to us as being the favourite, but this stumbling serves to remind [us] how hard it is to land a victory. I had not had contemplated the option Alaves played with, 5-4-1, he [Pellegrino] had not used it up to now. It was difficult for us against opponents [who] we have to congratulate," Enrique said.

The coach kept star strikers Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez on the bench with an eye on upcoming Champions League clash against Celtic, but handed a start to Neymar following his return from the Rio Olympics.

Although Messi and Suarez were later brought as substitutes, it was not enough to seal victory against Alaves, who took the lead twice through Deyverson and Ibai Gomez.

First published: 11 September 2016, 4:59 IST