Football
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent 7y

Luis Enrique: Barcelona paid for inconsistency early in La Liga season

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique bemoaned a lack of consistency earlier in the season as his side came up short in their bid to catch Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

The Blaugrana came from two goals down on Sunday to beat Eibar and end the season with a win at Camp Nou, but they missed out on the title as Madrid beat Malaga to clinch top spot for the first time since 2012.

"[The comeback] was a clear sign of what this team is and what it is capable of, of never giving up ever," Luis Enrique said in his postgame news conference.

"But we haven't ended the season as we wanted. La Liga is 38 games long and it rewards consistency. We were not consistent enough -- especially earlier in the season at home -- to win the league and we have paid for that.

"We didn't depend on ourselves [going into the final day]. We fought until the very end and now we congratulate a worthy champion."

Barca captain Andres Iniesta agreed with his manager's assessment of the season and went as far as to admit that Madrid have been better throughout the course of the campaign.

"It's a bittersweet victory," he said of the win over Eibar. "We did what we had to do by winning the remainder of our games [after the Clasico], but there was a team that was a little bit better than us and they are a fair winner.

"When you don't reach your objectives, it's not a good feeling. We fell one step short regarding the consistency we have had in other seasons. The team tried hard, even when we were losing 2-0 today."

This was the Luis Enrique's final match in charge of Barca at Camp Nou and there was a tribute to him from the supporters before the game.

Next Saturday's Copa del Rey final at the Vicente Calderon will be his last match as the club's manager before his contract expires in June, but this served as his goodbye to the home supporters.

"What stays with me is the affection I have received from the people at the club," he said looking back on his three years as first team boss.

"I don't care what the rest think. I came to be a leader and thanks to my players I've managed to win some titles -- I'm happy and fortunate to have spent these years here.

"I did everything in my own style, giving everything until the last day and I have nothing to regret."

Luis Enrique has steered Barca to eight trophies out of a possible 12 so far and will have the chance to take his tally to nine with a win in Saturday's Copa del Rey final against Alaves.

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