A sweet victory for Luis Enrique on Wednesday night, soundly defeating his friend and former teammate, Pep Guardiola, 4–0, in the third Group C game for FC Barcelona and Manchester City. Lionel Messi, of course, was the star of the show, scoring thrice to leave not just his former manager on the losing end but his leaving his current manager almost lost for words.
“He was decisive,” Luis Enrique said after the game. “He was involved in all the game’s key moments.”
The manager continued: “Messi finishes as if he were playing on the school playground.”
“It doesn’t matter if he’s coming off an injury,” Luis Enrique said. “It’s just the way he processes the game.”
The Barça manager also commented on several other topics in his post-game press conference. Here are the highlights of what he had to say.
“There were some big errors made in the game and that’s huge in matches featuring two very good teams. The little details decide the game.”
“Umtiti played very well at right centre back, which he did before with France’s U-21 team.”
“City is a team that’s constantly changing things up during the game. It’s tough to play against them.”
“City were good until the end of the game; the expulsion changes the match.”
“If you win the way you asked your team to play, it feels even better.”
