Ernesto Valverde: Barcelona to combat Liverpool ‘suffocating pressure’

Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde has explained he has worked hard on a system to combat Liverpool’s ‘suffocating pressure’.

Jurgen Klopp’s team are known for their high pressing style and intensity, with the Catalan giants hosting them in Wednesday night’s Champions League semi-final first leg.

“You have to have answers to the impetus they take in the game and the suffocating pressure they place the opposition under,” Valverde told a press conference, as cited by El Mundo Deportivo.

“Their system is to get the ball quickly into their front three players and they utilise width and pushing their defenders forward, they want you to lose the ball in dangerous areas.

“You have to have the answers to that and know how to combat it effectively, because their attack is extraordinary.

“They have only lost one league game this season, but we are going to win the game because we are home and we are Barcelona.

“We must know that they will want to overwhelm us in the early stages because this is their usual plan, but we must try to take control of the game.”

Tags Ernesto Valverde
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