Barcelona won’t rest in Liverpool in bid to banish Roman ghosts once and for all

Ben Hayward7 May 2019

Rome may not have been built in a day, but it was one night in the Eternal City which saw Barcelona’s Champions League hopes left in ruin last season. And coach Ernesto Valverde has not been allowed to forget it ever since.

The 3-0 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico in April last year has been a recurring theme in press conferences ahead of European games for Barca this term and even with the Catalans on the verge of securing a place in the final, the questions have kept coming.

Ahead of the game against Lyon in the last 16, Valverde was asked about it: “We spoke about it for a long time," he said. “It comes to a point where you can’t keep beating yourself up any more.”

But he was asked again in the lead-up to the second leg, then prior to the quarter-final tie with Manchester United and afterwards, a Catalan journalist put it to him that he must have been relieved to finally have put it to bed.

If only. Barca are in the semi-finals now and the topic is still being brought to his attention, particularly now that Valverde’s side have a three-goal advantage once again – just as they did prior to the infamous Italian trip last season.

In Pictures | Barcelona vs Liverpool, Champions League | 01/05/2019

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“Experiences help a lot,” the 55-year-old said on Monday ahead of side's semi-final second leg against Liverpool. “It’s clear we had a bad result last year. We weren’t good. Football gives you another opportunity. We played well in the first leg and we want to repeat. We are mentally prepared.”

And asked again about Rome, he said: “I don’t fear a comeback. The matches are there to be played. In the Barca-PSG tie, everyone thought PSG would go through if they scored, but Barca went and scored six.

“Nothing is written. You have to write it.”

But he also admitted: “They could beat us. In football, lots of things can happen. They are good, very good. They have lost only one match this season in the Premier League. They are extraordinary with set pieces. There is no relaxation.”

Perhaps there was last season. Valverde has even said so. At the time, Barca were unbeaten in La Liga and also in the Champions League. It came as a shock, but they seem better prepared this time around.

“The first leg doesn’t change anything for us,” he said. “We have the intention of winning. Any thought that comes to us about the result would be a mistake on our part. The stadium will push them on and their fans will be willing them. This is the end of the road for one of the teams and we hope it is for them.”

Valverde also refused to be drawn on Jurgen Klopp’s quotes before the first leg that the Camp Nou was “not a football temple”. On Monday, the Barca boss was asked whether he thought Anfield was.

Barcelona players walk out at Anfield ahead of Monday's training session Photo: Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith
Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

“Us coaches tend to de-dramatise,” he said, explaining Klopp’s words. But as usual, he was keen to avoid any controversy. “There are two goals, 22 players and the team that plays the best will win the match,” he added.

Win the tie on Tuesday to seal a place in the Champions league final – en route to a possible treble –and the Roma question may finally be banished to history for Valverde and Barca. It is about time.

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