Enrique jokes he was 'on the verge of a HEART ATTACK' before late win

Luis Enrique jokes he was ‘on the verge of a HEART ATTACK’ before Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres rescued a win against Georgia… but Spain boss warns players they ‘cannot afford to relax’ for remainder of qualifying

  • REPORT: Spain bailed out in stoppage time by Dani Olmo to defeat Georgia
  • Luis Enrique revealed his side had him ‘on the verge of a heart attack’ in Tbilisi
  • Ferran Torres equalised before Olmo struck and Enrique celebrated wildly
  • He has now warned his players they ‘cannot afford to relax’ in upcoming games 

Spain’s late, late show against Georgia in their second 2022 World Cup qualifier left boss Luis Enrique ‘on the verge of a heart attack,’ he has revealed. 

Enrique’s side were heavy favourites against Georgia in Tbilisi and yet found things far from easy at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena.

Manchester City’s Ferran Torres equalised before the hour mark and it came down to a stoppage time winner from Dani Olmo – something that almost tipped Enrique over the edge.

Luis Enrique (right) revealed his Spain side had him ‘on the verge of a heart attack’ with late win

Dani Olmo (centre) scored a 92nd-minute goal for Spain to beat Georgia 2-1 on Sunday night

Enrique, who settled Olmo’s winning goal wildly on the touchline, told TVE: ‘I was on the verge of a heart attack. 

‘We have been losing confidence and you could see that in the first half.

‘We conceded from a slight defensive error and knew it would be complicated from that point on. Our intention was to play more passes inside and create more opportunities.’

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gave the home side a shock lead right at the very end of the first half

Critics of Spain’s opening two performances – in which they drew 1-1 with Greece and needed late salvation against Georgia – believe this side lacks balance heading into a rearranged European Championships this summer.

Eighty-three places separated Spain and Georgia in FIFA’s world rankings and yet what transpired proved to be far closer – but Enrique is paying no attention to his detractors.

‘Yes,’ he said, when asked if his side deserved to win. ‘And if people think we don’t then I do not care.

‘If you score in the 90-something minute it is because you have worked hard for the goal. Each win will lift our morale but we cannot afford to relax now.’  

Ferran Torres (centre) grabbed an equaliser for Spain to spare the European giant’s blushes

Spain have managed just five shots on target over their opening two qualifiers and questions are being asked of the free-flowing football expected under Enrique.

La Roja have not lost a World Cup qualifying match in 28 years but went to Georgiaa having won one of their last five matches.

Olmo’s late strike keeps Spain second in Group B, two points behind early pacesetters Sweden who maintained their 100 per cent start with a 3-0 win in Kosovo.

Spain welcome Kosovo to Seville on Wednesday in a qualifier Enrique will hope doesn’t play with his emotions as much as events in Tbilisi.  




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