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They were like wolves – Valverde hails Slavia Prague but urges Barcelona to take control

SoccerNews in La Liga 23 Oct 2019

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Ernesto Valverde has praised the display of Slavia Prague after his Barcelona side came away with a fortuitous 2-1 win in the Champions League.

Barca were well below par in Wednesday’s Group F encounter, but clinched the points thanks to Peter Olayinka’s own goal.

Lionel Messi had put Barca ahead early on, but Slavia deservedly fought back through Jan Boril’s equaliser before Olayinka deflected in Luis Suarez’s effort.

The visitors had to survive a late onslaught in order to move three points clear at the top of Group F and Valverde acknowledged his side must learn to manage games in a more orderly fashion.

“That was exactly the Slavia performance we expected,” Valverde told a news conference.

“These games, we have to know how to play them. We have lacked peace of mind. We had clearer chances than they did, but their pushing could hurt us. They were like wolves.

“When we lost the ball they threw people forward and by the end they took so many risks it was like defending against an avalanche of attacks.”

Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a string of stops to keep Slavia down to one goal, but the Germany international insisted Barca must improve tactically.

“We didn’t play at the level we need to be at,” Ter Stegen told reporters. “Luckily we got all three points, which is the most important thing.

“There are things we must improve but we’ll talk about them within the training ground, not here.

“This is a tactical thing. These are things that happen during a game.

“On a personal level I always want to be there and if I can help the team, that’s better.”

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