FC Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said Friday that away matches, such as this Saturday against Levante UD, are "fundamental" in order to continue at the top of LaLiga Santander , after having recovered positions despite an irregular start where duels away from Camp Nou were a drag.

"We did not start well, especially away from home we were getting stuck in certain games, it is true that it is not that fortune smiles at some times but it is what we are. We are recovering positions and we are there, but there are still a lot and these games outside, those that in the beginning we have failed, are fundamental ", assured in press conference.

Valverde accepts that the current situation of the team is good, the desired one in terms of leading LaLiga and the 'Champions' group, but warned that there is still too much left and therefore they should continue to improve. "If you are the first in the competitions that you are contesting, you are always where you would like to be. But in the same way that when we were not so well we said that it was a long way, now the same," he added.

"We have recovered positions but there are difficult games that we know what they are because we have suffered, such as tomorrow and Tuesday against Slavia . Tomorrow is likely to be similar to last year, Levante is a team that tries press high and have many offensive solutions, "he said.

In this sense, he believes that tomorrow in the Ciutat de València is one of the parties in which "anything" can happen through how the game is raised by Levante. "They are in a moment of instability, against Espanyol they were not well but before Real Sociedad they were again a recognizable team, similar to last year, and it will be a complicated game like the one of the previous year. We were champions last year at home before them but it was very difficult to win that game, "he recalled.

On the other hand, he downplayed the fact that, after his three-month sanction, Leo Messi has been summoned again by Argentina for the two November friendly against Brazil and Uruguay. "We know that if Messi is active there is a high index that I can call him his selection. If he has not gone these months it is by sanction, it is normal to go . We have assumed it and he has assumed it and it is not a setback," assured.

" Griezmann has been playing regularly. The other day I made some change, but I do not like to talk about disputable and unquestionable, but he is playing regularly and will continue to do so if he meets the expectations, " he said about the French striker, who did not start the Last win against Valladolid (5-1).

As for Frenkie De Jong , he celebrated his adaptation and versatility. "We are alternating players because we have several possibilities, and of course it is clear that Frenkie has come very well because it gives us a lot of freshness when it comes to having the ball as at the start from behind. It is difficult to overcome, from the point of view defensively it helps us a lot. And with the physical potential it has, it is no accident what he did and is doing and we still expect much more, "he said.

Asked by Ansu Fati , headline against Valladolid after a while without playing with the first team, he said he does not regret having raised it. "I will not regret it. We had a need to cover and Ansu Fati is demonstrating many things. He is very young and still has a lot of space ahead. He is in our dynamic, knowing that he can be riding between the first team and the subsidiary but the decision is well made, "he said.

"When a new player comes out in a brilliant way as he has come out, he generates high expectations, enormous, but things are as they are. He has just turned 17 and is a player who has not yet made the category and has to take a while to get done. It is a learning process, you will still have to grow and become stronger and you have a way to go, but there are many things that you do well, "he added to the new pearl of the quarry.

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  • Ansu Fati
  • Valladolid
  • Uruguay
  • Real society
  • Lift UD
  • Leo Messi
  • FC Barcelona
  • Ernesto Valverde
  • Brazil
  • Argentina

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