Luis Enrique satisfied with Supercopa workout

Dom Farrell

Luis Enrique satisfied with Supercopa workout image

Luis Enrique felt his experimental Barcelona lineup was unfortunate to lose 1-0 against Espanyol in the annual Supercopa de Catalunya on Tuesday.

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Felipe Caicedo collected Jose Antonio Reyes' pass and rounded Barca's third-choice goalkeeper Jordi Masip for the only goal of the game after 10 minutes.

The likes of Jordi Alba, Arda Turan and Paco Alcacer were in Luis Enrique's starting XI, alongside French defender Jeremy Mathieu, who suffered an injury to his right calf.

"It was a good match and I saw a good effort from all of my players," the head coach told his club's official website. "The result did not reflect the game. [Mathieu's injury was] the negative point."

Shot stopper Masip echoed his boss' thoughts.

"The team did a great job, we created chances and we kept the ball. I think the result was a bit unjust," he said. "After the goal, we bounced back well and kept possession but the ball simply wouldn't go in. The reserve players are very capable, with a lot of quality and they are working very hard with Barca B.

"I am happy and in high spirits. Hard work is needed; there is tough competition in goal. The season is long, we will see what happens. I have patience."

Brazilian defender Marlon Santos, who is on loan with Barcelona B from Fluminense, enjoyed a run out with the senior team.

"I feel ready, I am patient because I am young. Now I must continue working and do my job for my teammates in the reserves," he said.

Barcelona returns to La Liga action against Granada this weekend in what will be the club's 1,500th competitive game at Camp Nou.

Dom Farrell

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.