Valverde: 'We played really well for 75 minutes'

FC Barcelona have lost their second game of pre-season against AS Roma, a game which the blaugranes dominated before conceding three times in eight minutes in the second half to go down 4-2 to the Serie A side. Barça coach Ernesto Valverde summed up his feelings about the encounter in his post-game press conference: “We played well except for the final minutes. We 75 excellent minutes in which we dominated the way we wanted to.”

The boss added: “When the youngsters were out there too there were moments when we dominated the game, then we dropped off little but that is to be expected as we had a young team out there. It’s part of the learning process but we have come here to look at players. We all like to win but in general we have played well.”

When individual players came up, Valverde cast an eye over new signing Malcom’s contribution. “He reads the game well and he is a strong player who can drop deep to pick the ball up. He has that pace and a shot from distance that is good for us. We are really happy with him and he will help us a lot,” said the coach. Rafinha was another name to be mentioned: “He has looked good in the two games so far and in training. It’s a great advantage that he can play in various positions. It’s the first time I have been able to have a good look at him, last season he was injured and I am really happy with him. He has been really involved.”

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