Ernesto Valverde has admitted his Barcelona side ‘suffered’ against Liverpool, but the defeat was different to the one against Roma the year before.
Valverde’s side suffered an infamous collapse against Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals last season.
Having enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 win at the Camp Nou the week before, Barcelona were expected to progress to the final against a weakened Liverpool team.
Instead, they collapsed inside a baying Anfield, with a scintillating evening seeing them beaten 4-0 and knocked out by the eventual winners.
The result was Barcelona’s second such collapse in as many years, with the previous year having seen them knocked out by Roma, losing 3-0 in the second leg after a 4-1 win at home.
It is widely felt that both results, particularly the Liverpool one, is something the La Liga giants are still suffering from and which ultimately cost Valverde his job. He, though, insists they were very different results.
“In Rome, we didn’t finish the game and those of us were there always thought we could go out.
“And in the Liverpool game when we started playing they scored the goal which we wanted to avoid. One goal gave us qualification, and in one minute they scored two goals.
“These are situations that happen. You always put yourself in the position of the one who wins. In the first leg with Liverpool, we suffered a lot, but we were able to win by four goals.
The Champions League is very complicated to win, the Europa League, World Cups and European Cups… are all tournaments that depend on a game, a situation.
“The league instead marks what you have done in the year. Liverpool now gives a lot of importance to the Premier because they have not won in a long time.”
