Luis Enrique claims if he caught Carles Alena on the pitch in the first half against Hercules, “I’d have eaten him”, despite the Barcelona starlet’s equaliser.
Alena rescued Barca a 1-1 draw with third-tier Hercules in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, on his first-team debut for the Catalans, but Enrique made it clear the teenage midfielder still had plenty to learn, namely his positioning.
“It wasn’t the result we wanted,” the Coach said after the game.
“The tie isn’t over and [the second leg] is going to be difficult for us. It’s difficult to finalise these types of games.
“We made many changes. I saw a good attitude from the team in general.
“We won’t pretend that in two training sessions, our young players can assimilate all the first-team’s concepts, but I’m happy with their idea and second half.
“It’s always very difficult to create chances when so many players are behind the ball. And when we don’t play with our usual forwards, it’s even harder.
“I’m satisfied with the goal that Alena scored, but in the first half if I caught him, I’d have eaten him!
“Positionally he needs to improve, that he receives the ball in easy areas of the pitch like I do at 46.
“We expect a lot from him and we’ll be on top of his development.”
