SEVILLE • Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has rejected the suggestion that their shock 2-1 defeat by Valencia in the King's Cup final was the result of lingering psychological scars from their Champions League humiliation at the hands of Liverpool.
A month ago, things were going swimmingly for the Catalan giants. They had wrapped up the LaLiga title with three games to spare and there were genuine hopes of a first treble success since 2015.
But the Reds' remarkable four-goal turnaround in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final has soured their league triumph and that hangover extended to Sunday, with Barcelona blowing the chance to seal a ninth domestic double and their fifth consecutive Cup.
Admitting that his players "had been knocked off that (treble) path at the decisive moment", Valverde said: "We have lost, but not because of a psychological issue.
"It's different from the game (at Anfield) we played a fortnight ago, but we've lost again, that is reality, the feeling.
"We have not been able to fulfil our own expectations, we celebrated the league title, we thought we could make a treble.
"You're left with a bad feeling because we created that expectation and it has not been like that. We're here to win titles and not for anything else."
However, Valverde insisted he was still the best man for the job, claiming he still "felt good".
Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu also backed Valverde, who has a year left on his deal, to see out his final season at the Nou Camp, saying: "He's the coach. This defeat is not the manager's fault.
"We had a lot of chances, but the ball wouldn't go in. Sometimes, you have all the shots, but what counts is scoring goals.
"I wouldn't say the season's been a failure, but it's not been excellent either. Each year, we want to get to the run-in with the best chance of winning everything and in the end, we've lost two games, Anfield and here, and missed out on two titles."
However, the home faithful are no longer buying their excuses, with the #ValverdeOut campaign trending on social media and fans calling for his immediate sacking.
Gerard Pique also conceded in the aftermath that "the other decisions aren't in our hands". The defender told Catalan daily Sport: "It's always a good year when you win LaLiga, but the expectation was to have an even better year and that's not been the case.
"The season ends with a bittersweet feeling, because it could have been better. We're not worrying about the manager's future, we all have to analyse ourselves and try and improve."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Maurizio Sarri condemns the alleged racist abuse of Raheem Sterling by Chelsea supporters but wants the club's main focus to be on Thursday's clash with Vidi. The Blues visit Budapest this week for their final Europa League group match, having already secured qualification to the last 32 in top spot.
Sarri condemns 'disgusting' abuse aimed at Sterling
Football: Man City come from two goals down to reach FA Cup last four Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates with Bernardo Silva after scoring their third goal. PHOTO: REUTERS
Man City come from two goals down to reach FA Cup last four
Messi calls for search to continue for missing Sala, Football
Chelsea boost top-four hopes, Cardiff relegated and Man City and Liverpool keep winning: Premier League predictions. Reliving Manchester United's 1999 Champions League win - 20 years on. Football.
Premier League: Liverpool Back On Top With Win Over Tottenham
Brendan Rodgers took a step closer to a return to the Premier League on Tuesday when Celtic chiefs said they had allowed him to talk to Leicester City who on Sunday fired manager Claude Puel. Rodgers, 46, has not coached an English top flight team since Liverpool sacked him in October 2015.
Leicester City target Celtic's Rodgers to replace Puel
en.rfi.fr/sports/20190226-leicester-city-target-celtics-rodgers-replace-claude-puel
Brendan Rodgers took a step closer to a return to the Premier League on Tuesday when Celtic chiefs said they had allowed him to talk to Leicester City who on Sunday fired manager Claude Puel.
Leicester City target Celtic's Rodgers to replace Puel
Paris (AFP) - Olivier Giroud scored a hat-trick as Chelsea cruised into the Europa League quarter-finals with an 8-0 aggregate thrashing of Dynamo Kiev on Thursday, while Napoli also booked a last-eight spot.
Chelsea cruise into Europa League q/finals, Giroud records
Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri has slammed the "disgusting" abuse aimed at Manchester City's Raheem Sterling at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea and the Metropolitan Police launched
Sarri condemns 'disgusting' Sterling abuse - sportsmax.tv
The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs developed a research agenda focused on positive youth development. Through a collaborative consensus-building process, representatives from federal agencies identified three research domains (conceptual issues, data sources and indicators, and program implementation and effectiveness) and key
20 - 24 Nov: MyFootballCamp 2017 - HYFA - ALL ABOUT CITY
Atletico Madrid left it late to see off Girona 2-0 at home on Tuesday as strikes from Diego Godin and Antoine Griezmann kept up their faint hopes of catching La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Soccer-Late strikes from Godin and Griezmann keep Atletico in
Cesc Fabregas completes move from Chelsea to reunite with Thierry Henry at Monaco Description: Cesc Fabregas completes move to Monaco: The Spain international teams up with former Arsenal teammate Thierry Henry after signing a three-and-a-half-season deal with the Principality club.
Cesc Fabregas completes Monaco move from Chelsea
Premier League Clubs 'Strongly Opposed' to Proposed UEFA Champions League & Europa League Changes The Premier League has released a statement in which they state unanimous opposition to proposed changes to the structure of both the Champions League and Europa League.
Champions League: Premier League reacts as UEFA makes changes
Molde owners will support me if I stay at Manchester United: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said the owners of Norwegian club Molde sent him to Old Trafford with their blessing and asked him to try to turn his temporary stint at the club into a permanent role.
Molde owners will support me if I stay at United-Solskjaer
Ole rues missed chances LONDON • Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has described the 2-0 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday and the consequent failure to apply pressure in the race for the Premier League's top four as his "lowest" point since taking charge of Manchester United in December.
Solskjaer rues missed chances | Video - skysports.com
Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Easily share your publications and get them in front of Issuu's
Japan to accept 50,000 workers from PH under new hiring rules 'Japan faces an aging society and lacks labor force, while the Philippines is abundant with young labor force with great potential
NBA players vote Draymond Green as 'most overrated' in
0 comments:
Post a Comment