Barcelona manager Luis Enrique Martinez felt the goalless draw in the Catalan derby with Espanyol was a “fair” result.
“It’s always difficult when a team plays to the limit and works so hard,” hhe said abut the home side’s performance at Cornella-El Prat.
“Espanyol played with a lot of intensity and we knew that they would, because they have a new coach and because it’s a derby.
“In general, I think the result is fair even though we created a few opportunities.”
Luis Enrique recognised that Espanyol were superior defensively and refused to criticise them for some rough tackling.
“I always tell my players that football is a contact sport so I don’t want to complain about that,” he continued.
“We tried to beat our opponents with our play. We had a good start and we created chances, there’s nothing else to say.”
Despite the game being even, Luis Enrique only made one change, introducing Sergi Roberto for Ivan Rakitic.
“I thought it was right to only make one change, everything works depending on what I consider the best for the team,” he said.
Finally, he wouldn’t comment on the reported racial abuse targeted at Neymar.
“I don’t want to comment on anything that doesn’t concern football,” he responded.
“If I say one thing then I will get criticised and if I say another then I will also be attacked.”