FC Barcelona are through to the Copa del Rey Final for the fifth time in a row. After the final whistle, manager Ernesto Valverde was naturally delighted with the result and offered some insight into how the game had panned out.
On the win
"Our opponents and their whole city were very much up for this game … We dominated tonight although they did have their chances. But we deserved to qualify.”
"I would have preferred to have had the game sorted out earlier … If Valencia hadn’t hit the crossbar they would have been right back in the tie.”
On Gerard Piqué
"He felt fine so we decided to take a risk. But he was struggling at the end, so I took him off.”
On Coutinho
"I was sure about the change. We needed to get things moving up front. André was helping us with his strength but we needed a dribbler to make something out of our domination. I usually wait longer to make changes, but I was very sure about this one.”
On the final
"We’ve beaten some tough teams like Celta, Valencia and Espanyol in this competition, so I’m very happy. Barça have played in a lot of finals, but this is just my second. I hope I get more luck than I did in the last one.”
“I already have the experience of playing one final at the opposition’s ground. I wouldn’t want to have to do that again.”
On the season ahead
"What we intend to so now is focus on La Liga and the Champions League, where we have a very difficult game ahead. But next up it’s Getafe. My players have the mentality to do what the club demands.”
