Valverde: We controlled the game against Chelsea

Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde felt his side controlled the game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as the two sides played out a 1-1 draw.

Willian hit the post twice for the hosts before opening the scoring with a fine strike. However, Lionel Messi equalised to give Barcelona the slight advantage in the tie.

Speaking after the game Valverde seemed pretty happy with the game, despite his team struggling to create chances against the Blues.

“I judge the game positively. It was a clash of styles, two different teams. We controlled the game, had a lot of the ball and took it to their box a lot. They looked to hit on the break. They defended well, there were a lot of bodies in and around their box,” he said.

”We had the game under control when they scored their goal. Perhaps we didn’t create many clear-cut chances, but we managed to force an error and get the draw. It was a tense game. It’s a score we’ll take.

”This wasn’t a game for experimenting. We weren’t here to try things, we were respectful.

”Both sides are going to respect each other’s styles in the second leg … It’s obvious they’ve got attacking threats to cause us problems.”

Source | UEFA

Having scored an away goal Barcelona will be favourites to progress with the second leg at Camp Nou. Chelsea must score if they are to have any chance of going through, which should make for a decent game second leg in Barcelona.