Barca: it was a significant away goal for us- Valverde

Football NewsBarca

 

The Barcelona gaffer is happy after the 1-1 draw against Chelsea in their first leg  Champions League round of 16 ties at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.

 

Once it was looking like Barcelona will go empty-handed from Stamford Bridge after Willian's 62 minutes for Chelsea but the Argentine ace pounced a goal for the Catalan giants from a mistake of Christensen with 15 minutes remaining of game.

 

The Barca manager said: "The good thing is that we managed to get an error out of them and we got an equaliser. We go back to the Camp Nou happy,"

 

"I think the equaliser was very important. They might be happy with the result and we have to be respectful of their style of play. They pressed us very high and made life difficult for us.

 

"We will see what happens in the return leg. The away goal was not definitive but it was significant."

 

Last night the Catalan giants were blunted throughout the game against Chelsea’s strong defensive performance, Chelsea created more chances in that match than Barcelona, Willian struck twice at the woodwork in the first half, but now Messi’s goal means Chelsea must have to score in the return fixture if a chance of progression.

 

Valverde added: "It was a clash of styles,"

 

"Two very different teams. We had lots of possession close to their area but after the first few minutes they began to start testing us on the counter-attack.

 

"We were just lacking a bit of quality in the final third and they defended very well. There was a lot of traffic around their box and we struggled to break through. We just lacked clear-cut chances."