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Ernesto Valverde takes questions about UCL collapse

By Laieke Abebe

ROME, ITALY - APRIL 10: Coach of Barcelona Ernesto Valverde answers to the media following the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final second leg match between AS Roma and FC Barcelona (Barca) at Stadio Olimpico on April 10, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY - APRIL 10: Coach of Barcelona Ernesto Valverde answers to the media following the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final second leg match between AS Roma and FC Barcelona (Barca) at Stadio Olimpico on April 10, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) /
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Ahead of Saturday’s La Liga tilt with Valencia, Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde took questions about the collapse against Roma in the Champions League.

Edin Dzeko, Kostas Manolas and Daniele De Rossi scored for Roma as they turned around a 4-1 first leg deficit by winning 3-0 in Rome on Tuesday. Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona was eliminated from the top club competition in Europe in the quarterfinals for the third straight season and fourth in the last five seasons. Overall, a treble season is down the drain after a run of excellent form coming into that match.

The third Roma goal in the second leg felt inevitable. Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to made so many saves before Manolas headed in the winning goal in the last 10 minutes. Barca had no time to react and Valverde finally made substitutions. Despite getting Ousmane Dembele on in search of the winning goal, it was never coming. The Edin Dzeko strike at Camp Nou late in the second half was the difference in the tie.

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Barca are still undefeated in La Liga and have the Copa del Rey to play for. However, it will take some time to recover from a defeat of that magnitude. What’s even worse is that they have to quickly turn around and get back to La Liga action against a tough Valencia side. Valverde and his players have to respond with a lot of focus because of the things left to play for.

Speaking of the manager, Ernesto Valverde’s first press conference since Barcelona’s Champions League collapse in Rome was highly anticipated. Despite the loss, the Barca manager backed his team to keep going for the La Liga and the Copa del Rey titles. Since the match is fresh on everyone’s mind, the game against Roma was the main topic. Overall, Valverde still showed confidence in his team to complete the other goals that were set at the beginning of the season.

"“[The players] look fine as far as I can see. True, it’s a difficult moment of the season, the most difficult, or maybe second most difficult after August. Since the beginning of season, we have been consistent, doing well. Then we lose that game, we lost the chance to stay in a competition which excites us. So yes, it’s a big disappointment. But we still have two trophies to play for this season. No matter how much we look back at the game from Tuesday, we still lose it. Now we need to re-engage with the fans, keep focused and try and achieve our objectives.”Ernesto Valverde on losing to Roma"

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Overall, Ernesto Valverde is going to face a lot of criticism no matter what happens for the rest of the season. The Champions League debacle will still be fresh on the memory of many fans. Even if the Blaugrana win two trophies, it will feel like a lost season. However, most felt like it was lost after the Spanish Super Cup last August, so fans must keep that perspective in mind. Now, Barca look ahead to the match against Valencia.

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