Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has insisted that he has no regrets over starting Lionel Messi on the bench in Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad.
The Argentine was introduced at half time as the Catalan giants failed to reverse the damage of Jordi Alba's third-minute own goal.
Enrique also elected to bench Neymar, who came on after 58 minutes, but the Spaniard believes that the spotlight should be on Sociedad's "complete performance" rather than his pre-match decisions.
Defeat prevented the Blaugrana from moving top of the Primera Liga, after leaders Real Madrid - who have played a game less - lost 2-1 to Valencia earlier on Sunday.
"This isn't the time to regret those decisions," he told reporters after the game. "I look at the season as a whole and I do what's best for the team. I thought that it was best not to risk [them].
"[The own goal was] Real Sociedad's only dangerous chance. We controlled the match, especially in the second half when we got closer to their net.
"We deserved more than that. We were a bit unlucky not to have scored an equaliser. Real Sociedad played a complete match."
The South American superstars have netted 37 times between them in all competitions this season.
Shane Callaghan
