Barcelona 'slacked off' in first loss, says Gerardo Martino
Coach admits his side lacked intensity as he tastes defeat against Ajax
Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino admitted his side may have taken their eye off the ball having already qualified for the last 16 as they lost for the first time this season, 2-1 away to Ajax.
Goals from Thulani Serero and Danny Hoessen gave Ajax a 2-0 lead. Though Barcelona were handed a lifeline at the beginning of the second period as Joel Veltman was sent off for bringing down Neymar inside the area, Xavi scored the penalty, but they could not find an equaliser.
"It is always possible to lose and we need to analyse more how the team played in the first 45 minutes than the defeat. That is when Ajax made the difference and won the game," Martino said. "We lacked intensity. It is clear that they were quicker, more precise, superior in the one against ones. They were better in all aspects.
I thought we were going to do it, but you can't let 45 minutes go by as we did
"When a team plays well like Ajax did and you lack this intensity, the opponent is always going to win."
Barca still top group H and need just a point against already eliminated Celtic in the final game at the Camp Nou to ensure they finish as group winners.
But Martino was frustrated not to have secured top spot having played for more than 40 minutes against a man less.
"Probably there is a situation where we thought we were qualified and subconsciously relaxed a little. We managed to qualify within four games and we would have liked to have secured first place today. With what I saw in the second half, I thought we were going to do it, but you can't let 45 minutes go by as we did."
