'Azulgranas' boss praises 'Periquitos' rearguard - Luis Enrique: "I think the result was a fair one"

"I tell my players that football is a contact sport. I don't want to comment on this though"

Posted Sunday, January 03, 2016 by Marca.com

'Azulgranas' boss praises 'Periquitos' rearguard - Luis Enrique:

Luis Enrique reacted to his side's stalemate in the Catalan derby by heaping praise on an Espanyol side which played to their strengths and delivered a resolute defensive performance.

"Espanyol played with an intensity which we knew they wouldn't be able to keep up for the whole game. It's more difficult to create chances than it is to break attacks down. They performed very well. Espanyol played with high intensity levels, we already knew that they would; their coach had said so, and also because Espanyol always play with with that bit of aggression in the derby".

Racist chanting towards Neymar: "I'm interested in everything that surrounds the game. If I say one thing, I'm blasted for it. If I don't say anything, I also end up getting it in the neck".

Endless fouls: "I tell my players that football is a contact sport. I don't want to comment on this though. We tried to get the better of the opposition through our football. We made a good start and had our chances, that's all there is to it. I think that if you consider the chances we created, overall the result was a fair one".

Only one substitution: "I only made one change because that was what I saw fit to do. Making one substitution was what I thought was needed to change the game".

One point gained, or two lost?: "Some people will think of it as one point gained, and others will say it's two lost, we will only be able to say come the end of the season. This game affects the next two cup games. We'll try to match their intensity levels. They'll be entertaining games".

Refereeing decisions: "I'm not going to comment on the refereeing, I'll just concentrate on analysing what happened out on the pitch".