Ernesto Valverde has given Barcelona 10/10 for their start to the season and reveals La Liga is their priority.
Barca remain unbeaten after 11 games in the League and Champions League, but speaking ahead of their clash with Malaga – who are bottom of the pile and still without a win – Valverde made it clear his side’s priority was regaining their domestic crown.
“Malaga have done well, regardless of the Coaches they’ve had,” the Coach said at a Press conference.
“They’re a team that like to choke their opponents, so it gives us an extra reason to be prepared.
“Deulofeu? He had a good game the other day, he unbalanced the match.
“It’s true that due to the way he plays, we look for him to get into one-on-ones to find solutions near our opponents’ box. It’s all or nothing, a goal or not a goal.
“The key is making good decisions and he did well the other day. We hope he keeps going like this.
“My 100 hardest days? It’s not been boring… We’ll see if the days that follow are any calmer.
“You fall in and out of love very quickly in football, but there’s a lot about Barca that I like. Their greatness, the feeling of the fans towards the club…
“Team rating so far? I give them a 10 for how we’ve done. We’ll keep aiming high. Now we’ll see how the next batch of games go.
“Mbappe? He’s not here. Jordi Alba’s condition? He had an injury the other day. We don’t think it’s too bad, but we certainly won’t rush him back.
“He didn’t train [on Friday] and I think it’ll be difficult for him to play. Our idea is to handle him with caution.
“We don’t feel like punishing anyone. We’re going to win and I have a lot of respect for Michel, but the circumstances of each team are what they are.
“Malaga don’t deserve to have just one point, judging by how they’ve played. They also have some important players through the middle…
“Denis Suarez? All my players have been taking their chances. Aleix Vidal, Deulofeu the other day…
“It’s good to have problems like these, which make it difficult for me to pick my team.
“Luis Suarez? It’s true that he picked up a knock against Atletico, but he was able to finish the match.
“He had a great game and scored a goal. He’ll have three or four chances a match and set up his teammates.
“Rotations? We’ll have three games in six games, so we’ll have to move some players around, but we still want the three points [against Malaga].
“There are important players in each team, who mark the way a side play, and that makes it harder to rotate, but players can still come in.
“We’re now fit and the players make it easy because we’re a compact group, who know what they want and have ambition.
“I try to be more or less normal in what I ask for. We can also play with an open left side. That’s a possibility. It depends on the players we have.
“January transfers? Barca always look to improve their team if they can, but at the same time, I’m going with the idea of getting the most out of the players I already have.
“Treble? We want to win everything and, to start that off, we want to win the League. After that, we’ll focus on the others.”
