The word is disappointment. Both Jules Koundé and Sergio Busquets were clear when commenting on Barça's defeat in Manchester that led to their elimination at the first opportunity in the Europa League. The center-back did not want to talk about failure, as he defended that Barça had competed one-on-one with their rival in an even tie. The captain, for his part, attributed the elimination to "specific errors." [Check the results of the Europa League].
“It's very painful because we wanted to go through the round", Koundé began. "We played a good first half, but in the second half we conceded quickly and then the game went away, we lost control and we haven't recovered it. I am very disappointed, ”he summarized to start at the Movistar microphones.
The central defender wanted to minimize the impact of the elimination because he was a rival of a high level. “You have to give credit to the rival, who has put one more gear in the second part and has made it difficult for us. We have struggled, it is very disappointing. I want to thank the fans who have been on the pitch, I am very disappointed for them and for the group", he explained.
Asked about the team's bad campaign in Europe, Koundé apologized for the team's multiple losses in the Champions League and the tough rivals. “If we talk about the Champions League, we had a lot of casualties and the rivals are stronger in that competition. We have played against big teams like Bayern Munich, Inter Milan or Manchester, who have a powerful forward line”, he conceded.
“This serves to learn, we have to go one step further and next year we are going to do it. It is a disappointment because we were excited, but it is not a failure because of how we have competed and because it is a very fit rival, we continue to grow, we have improved and we will continue to improve”, concluded Koundé.
For his part, Sergio Busquets said that his team lacked intensity throughout the match and stressed that it was "a very even tie, we competed, but there have been small details that have made the difference and we were left out".
“We played a good first half, at some point we fell behind, they push a lot, they have powerful players, but I think we were able to make it 0-2. And in the second part they have come out much better, they have had two plays in which they have found the free man. From here we have tried, we have had a couple of occasions, there is a very good hand from David (De Gea), "Busquets summed up.
The Barça captain did not want to compare this elimination with that of the Champions League. "They are different eliminations, in the Champions League we had no luck in the draw, many things happened in the games that were incredible, it makes you not be able to score and come down a bit and then we were not good in key games. Now we had a tie with one of the most fit teams in Europe, with great players and it was a disputed tie", he explained.
Finally, he denied that this defeat is going to take its toll mentally speaking. "The team is aware of where it comes from, the process it is going through and where it is going. We have to learn to compete better in Europe, but it won't take a toll on us mentally for the future."
