Osasuna pay price for Barca 'mini-crisis'
Reuters - Saturday 17 September 2011, 22:32
MADRID - Osasuna caught the backlash from
Barcelona's supposed 'mini-crisis' their coach Jose Luis
Mendilibar said after his side suffered an 8-0 thrashing in La
Liga on Saturday.
The Spanish and European champions had been questioned after
letting slip winning positions to draw 2-2 at Real Sociedad and
at home to AC Milan by the same scoreline in the Champions
League over the last week.
"Today they wanted to make sure beyond any doubt and they
have put eight past us," Mendilibar told reporters.
"These teams on top of their game, playing at 100 percent,
if they don't score eight could score five like they did against
Villarreal.
"They have done us over angered by the so-called mini-crisis
which was nothing more than draws in games they completely
dominated.
"I'm not worried about history books. We play to try and do
things well and when you go in at half-time losing 5-0 you start
thinking more about the next game.
"What we can't afford to do is lose the next game and look
really foolish."
Barca's World Player of the Year Lionel Messi led the
scoring with a hat-trick as the side responded to suggestions
from some quarters that they had slipped up during the week due
to complacency.
Barca coach Pep Guardiola denied he had been angered by
their previous two performances.
"I defend my players and up until now they haven't given me
reason to be angry," he told reporters. "They might do one day
but they haven't yet."
Guardiola played down the significance of the result as did
Barca's Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano.
"We weren't a disaster on Tuesday [against Milan] and we
aren't suddenly marvellous now," he said.