Gerardo Martino bemoaned his team’s poor finishing as Barcelona lost 1-0 at Granada on Saturday. Martino’s men are now third in the La Liga table, four points behindleader Atletico Madrid and one point behind Real Madrid. After the game, the Argentine coach refused to blame his players. “It’s clear that the league doesn’t depend onus,” he said. “But I have no reason to criticize my team. We have tried in every way and we had chances. It didn’t go for us today and we must realize we haven’t been fine inour finishing. Barca clearly should have won. The result is a shock that happens very occasionally in soccer.”
Martino noted that Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final against Real Madridwould be crucial: “After two defeats in the Champions League and the league the locker room feels something important is missing,” he said. “Wednesday’s game doesn’tdepend on this. It’s a final and we must go to win. I can’t feel good after these results but we will keep trying.”