Valencia took advantage of our mistakes, admits Quique Setien
Getty
Quique Setien was left disappointed on Saturday afternoon after enduring his first loss as head coach for Barcelona at Mestalla. The ex-Real Betis coach admitted that Barcelona weren’t very good and committed a lot of mistakes with Valencia punishing the Catalans for the errors.
Valencia maintained their superb unbeaten record at home as they defeated the Blaugrana 2-0, despite Maxi Gomez missing a penalty in the first half. Barcelona new boss Quique Setien was left disappointed with the result as Barcelona toiled throughout the game. Setien's side went to Valencia in just his third game in charge and left empty-handed after a 2-0 defeat, and the 61-year-old has admitted his team were not good enough on the day.
“The reality is that we weren't good. Not at all, especially in the first half. We didn't find a way to their goal and there were things that we didn't do well. Valencia then took advantage of our mistakes. They looked committed, but we didn't play well. They upped their game and it cost us. We made a lot of meaningless passes, just for the sake of it. But we lacked depth and the ability to hurt them.”, said Setien to Marca.
There’s been a lot of buzz after Setien took over the reins at Barcelona after the sack of Ernesto Valverde. With Setien’s appointment in mid-season, he has tried to infuse a new system in Barcelona and the players are trying to adapt to the new methods of the 61 year old. The former Betis coach prefers a back three and used a 3-5-2 formation against Los Che. Frenkie de Jong has played his worst game for the club since the summer but Setien isn't overly concerned.
“A lot of the time it's a matter of understanding. He's done a lot well and he's a great player. He's done well and now we need the others to do the same. He needs time to understand his teammates.”, concluded Setien
