Barcelona avoided an embarresment against third division Ibiza on Wednesday night.
Despite dominating possession at 78%, the Blaugrana found themselves down 1-0 after only nine minutes.
Antoine Griezmann saved some face by scoring in the 78th minute and then collecting the winner late into injury time. Barca did progress to the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey but with little pride. Quique Setien was absolutely livid with his players’ performance and did not hold back in his criticisms after the game.
“I did not like the team. I would have preferred things another way,” he told reporters. “But in a stadium like this, it is harder. They were aggressive and intense in defence. It has not been easy.
“I would have loved for us to have been more precise and to have played better. But from here we will take away conclusions for the future. It is when you do things badly that you can improve. I give Ibiza a lot of credit, they played a great game. It was not easy for us. It was very tough. They also went a goal ahead, which makes things harder.
“The first thing we are doing is seeing the players in different positions. [Fati] has a lot of talent. We will see how he progresses. He will get more starting time as long as he keeps developing.”
Barcelona will have to quickly forget Wednesday’s display as they travel to seventh-placed Valencia on Saturday.
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