Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has jumped to the defence of Lionel Messi after the forward endured a quiet outing in Wednesday's 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid, a result that sealed the Blaugrana's quarter-final exit.
Messi was one of numerous Barcelona players who failed to produce their finest at the Vicente Calderon, but Enrique deemed it wrong to put blame on individual performances, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:
Luis Enrique asked bout Messi: “Very unfair to point to individuals after a defeat. But we are in a bad moment, in both attack and defence.