Valverde: ‘We can’t take anything for granted’

"We can’t take anything for granted” has been one of the most repeated phrases in Ernesto Valverde’s press conferences, from back in the pre-season up to the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Roma. Speaking to reporters in Rome, the Barca coach said: "We face the game thinking that we have nothing won and the tie is to be decided, despite having a good result that gives us an advantage. We must think as if we were still at 0-0, because anything can happen. We will go to win because we can’t think any other way."

As for Roma’s approach, Valverde explained: "I expect a similar approach to the first leg and how they’ve played all season. They’ll have more intensity, especially from the beginning, and they’ll want to score quickly I imagine. They have to take risks and we have to play a great game to get through.”

In addition, Valverde recalled that "if we are at our level, we are a difficult team to score against and we’ll have chances to win. Roma have already shown that they have good players, so an error or too much confidence can be costly.”

Finally, the coach also talked about the physical aspect: "The team is well physically but we’ve played a lot of matches. We must have balance in both attack and defence.”