FC Barcelona News: 11 April 2019

Valverde: It takes suffering to be Champions | Football Espana

Ernesto Valverde admitted his team suffered at Manchester United, despite winning the first leg 1-0 thanks to a Luke Shaw own goal. He said: ”I am happy with the team’s performance tonight. We have suffered at times, but to be a champion, you have to suffer. This is our first win at Manchester United and we leave with a nice taste in the mouth - even though the end result was close.”

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi won’t face Huesca after Smalling collision - sources | ESPN

Lionel Messi will sit out Saturday’s La Liga trip to Huesca after being caught in the face by Chris Smalling and left with a bloodied eye and nose. Barca are optimistic he’s not suffered a fracture, but Ernesto Valverde will use the opportunity to give the GOAT a rest.

Goal bearing the Barça DNA at Old Trafford | FC Barcelona

Barcelona’s goal against Manchester United may have ended up being classified as a Luke Shaw own goal, but it was still pretty impressive. All 11 Barca players touched the ball in the lead-up to the ball going into the back of the net following a 194-second move.

Sergio Busquets: Lionel Messi showed up as always | Sport

Sergio Busquets defended captain Lionel Messi after Wednesday’s Champions League win over Manchester United. He said: “I don’t know if Leo has a fissure or not, but he had a nose bleed and it’s uncomfortable, but he showed up in the game and did things in the best way, as alway.”

Gerard Pique: Scoring quickly helped keep us calm | Sport

Gerard Pique reckons Barcelona’s early goal against Manchester United helped settle the team down at Old Trafford. He explained: “To come here is always really tricky, the stadium is majestic, it’s a club with a lot of history, sensational, the fans here push a lot and it’s really hard to win, Details decide that we would win the game, like scoring quickly which kept us calm and after we knew how to play with that advantage.”

‘Barcelona controlled every aspect perfectly’ - Alba elated with win over Man Utd | Goal

Jordi Alba says Barcelona were in complete control during their Champions League quarter-final tie against Manchester United. He said after the match: “We controlled every single aspect of the game perfectly. We had most of the ball, we played well in the air, where they are so powerful, we also kept our balance to avoid their counter-attacks. We were fluent in the build-up. We can be happy as it is not easy to win here. We have to play the second leg but now we have the lead.”

Rakitic, 50 matches in the Champions League for Barça | FC Barcelona

Wednesday’s match saw Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez both hit European landmarks for Barcelona. The midfielder played his 50th game for the club in the Champions League, while Suarez also hit a half-century of appearances in Europe’s top competition.

Allegri admits Barcelona-bound De Jong was too much to handle | The Independent

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri was full of praise for Frenkie de Jong after his side’s 1-1 draw against Ajax in their Champions League quarter-final. He said: “De Jong is the real source of their game. We tried to control him with (Rodrigo) Bentancur in the early stages but, when he understood that, he moved deeper, and the forwards had to work hard on him. He played very well.”