Barcelona’s first game under Quique Setién’s tenure was a success, and the manager happily reflected on it afterwards, when talking to Barça TV.
Last Tuesday, Quique Setién was unveiled as Barcelona’s new manager, thus taking over from Ernesto Valverde. Sunday night was when Setién’s first game in charge of the Catalan side took place, and both the scoreline, given Granada’s solid defense, as well as Barcelona’s play, were satisfactory to the fans at the Camp Nou, as well as the manager himself.
Setién happily reflected on his first game as Barcelona’s manager, that he feels the home team controlled well, when talking to the club’s official TV channel, Barça TV, after the game. The TV channel also spoke with Riqui Puig, who only had good words to say about his new manager.
“Our plan was to control the game, and I think we did that quite well. For us, it wasn’t the best day to play football, because of the weather conditions. It was really windy, it was difficult to pass the ball. The game was slow, and for us, being a team that likes to play fast [flowing football] against a team that likes to defend a lot — it’s not easy.“, the new manager explains to Barça TV.
The newly-appointed 61-year-old manager then looked towards the more positive side of the game: with 82% possession, Barcelona managed 18 shots on target — they were not shy of chances, but amazing goalkeeping from Granada’s Rui Silva between the sticks, as well as lack of efficiency from Barcelona’s forwards, meant only six shots were on target.
“However, we got plenty of chances, we found some spaces, we started the build-up from the back well, we arrived in the final part of the pitch well, [and] Jordi Alba was also there, we created lots of chances, but, sometimes, it’s not easy to score goals,“ says Barça’s new manager.
Quique Setién’s contract with the club runs until 2021, with an option for it to be extended until 2022.
