Luis Enrique refused to blame referee Nicola Rizzoli after seeing Barcelona dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid, ending their hopes of becoming the first team to retain the trophy in the modern era.
With Atletico leading 2-0, the game ended in high drama as Barca chased a goal which would have forced extra time.
Andres Iniesta – who probably should have been dismissed for a deliberate handball to concede the penalty for Atletico’s penalty a couple of minutes earlier – attempted a shot which struck Gabi on the arm.
Rizzoli immediately pointed to the edge of the box and awarded a free-kick, leading to furious protests from Barca players who felt – correctly, as TV replays demonstrated – the offence was committed inside the area.
But Enrique said: “From the bench you see nothing. I have nothing to say about it and I congratulate Atletico. They were better than us.”
With the Blaugrana now on a run of just one win from five games, Enrique admitted that Barca are suffering a dip in form at the crucial moment of the season.
“We are not going through our best moment. We had chances in the second half but Atletico should be congratulated,” he said. “Our aim was to win everything, but now we must pick ourselves up which is another challenge for the team.”
Wednesday night’s exit saw another quiet display from Lionel Messi, who did little to threaten Atletico’s goal other than a couple of off-target free-kicks.
Enrique said: “It’s very unfair to point to individuals after a defeat. We are in a bad moment, but in attack and defence.”
Barca will now turn their attention to La Liga and attempt to hold onto their three-point advantage over second-placed Atletico.
Valencia at home on Sunday is the next outing for Enrique’s men, and he added: “We have two competitions still in front of us, with a great chance to win both. They are very attractive objectives for us and you have to accept defeats. You cannot win everything.”
