Valverde lauds 'deserved' Barcelona despite own goals

Barcelona, April 5: Ernesto Valverde believes Barcelona's 4-1 Champions League win over Roma was deserved, despite its rather fortuitous nature.

The Catalan side started poorly and rarely looked comfortable, even after taking a 3-0 lead, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen required to impress in the home goal late on at Camp Nou.

Edin Dzeko cut Barca's advantage, but Luis Suarez's 87th-minute strike restored a three-goal margin to give them complete control of the tie.

Although it was a rather ordinary Blaugrana performance that was assisted by own goals from Daniele De Rossi and Kostas Manolas, Valverde was unperturbed.

"During the season there are all types of games - ones where you deserve more than you get and ones where you get more than you deserve," he said.

"We scored the goals we deserved, they attacked us and got the goal they were looking for which made our fourth very important.

"We do not care that they were own goals. If you do not get close to the goal, you do not get own goals. If the opponent scores in their own goal, what are we supposed to do?"

Barca sit nine points clear at the summit of LaLiga and will take on Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final this month.

Asked if he was eyeing a treble, Valverde responded: "I do not have any feelings of that kind. I see what it takes to win each game and what it took today

"I'm not thinking any further than Saturday's game against Leganes - and, no matter what people think [about Roma], nothing is done. I preferred 3-0 to 4-1, so nothing is done."

There was concern for Sergio Busquets, who asked to be withdrawn with a problem on his return from injury. The midfielder had been out with a fractured toe sustained in the previous round against Chelsea.

"He asked me for the change," Valverde said. "He had a little problem."

Source: OPTA