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Barcelona manager Luis Enrique admitted his side endured a "disastrous" evening as they lost 4-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
He also claimed Barca could have "stood on our heads, and it would have been the same result," while he was clearly irked by what he felt to be unfair questions about his tactics after the match.
The Catalan giants will now need to make an unprecedented comeback from a four-goal deficit in the second leg at the Camp Nou if they are to avoid crashing out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the first time since 2007.
Per TV3 (h/t Marca), Enrique made few excuses about the defeat, crediting PSG with a fine performance on the night at the Parc des Princes: "It was a disastrous night. PSG were better than us with and without the ball. The result clearly reflects what happened and I don't need to be the one to tell that."
A fantastic free-kick from Angel Di Maria and fine finish by Julian Draxler saw PSG 2-0 up by the break in the French capital. Former Real Madrid star Di Maria then netted a second before Edinson Cavani finished a fine move from deep, per BT Sport Football:
Per ESPN FC, Barca were widely expected to win their tie against the Ligue 1 champions and reach the quarter-finals for the 10th year running, but they now face a difficult task.
Enrique's key players—the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez—were not on form on Tuesday:
The whole Barca squad will have to be at their best in the return leg, but even then they will struggle to claw back the four-goal deficit—a feat never previously achieved in the history of the competition.
Enrique took issue with post-match comments about the tactics he employed on Tuesday and felt there was little different he could have done, while he also felt the level of criticism was unfair, per TV3 (via MailOnline's Pete Jenson):
We could have stood on our heads and it would have been the same result. I'm responsible for this so don't look for anyone else to blame, but I don't like the tone and I would have liked the same treatment all the times we have won, that I am getting tonight when we haven't. [...] Half the game is still left. I have not lost all hope. We don't need four goals we need five but why are we not going to dream that we can do it?
The 46-year-old Enrique has had extraordinary success with the Blaugrana since he took over as manager in 2014, winning a La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble in his first season in charge before successfully defending both domestic titles last term.
It would rank as one of his finer achievements were Barca to overturn the 4-0 deficit against PSG in March 8's second leg, and Enrique has the players to make a go of it, but the odds are now stacked heavily against the Catalans.