LYON (AFP) - Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde shrugged off his team's struggles in front of goal after they were held to a 0-0 draw in Lyon in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday (Feb 19).
The Spanish side had most of the chances at the Groupama Stadium, with Luis Suarez firing just wide in the second half, although it was Lyon who came the closest when Martin Terrier hit the bar early on.
Lionel Messi and Co. were once again left frustrated on the road at the business end of the competition, and have now gone six away matches without winning in the Champions League knockout rounds, scoring just a single goal in that time. It is a run that goes back three years.
Desperate to end Real Madrid's recent European dominance, Barca must now finish the job when the teams meet again at the Camp Nou on March 13, but Lyon remain in the tie.
Barcelona's form needs to improve between now and then, though - they have drawn four of their last five matches in all, and have scored just once, from a penalty, in their last three outings.
"We played good football, but you have to hit the target as well, and we didn't," Valverde said.
"We are on the right road, though, and the tie is still up in the air. We will try to win it in front of our fans.
"I am not happy with the result, but I am happy with the performance and with what we created.
"We didn't score, but that is how it is. It is not easy to win away from home in the Champions League."
The visitors - who started with Sergi Roberto in midfield rather than the out-of-form Philippe Coutinho - had good reason to be wary of their hosts, who have excelled in big games this season.
Bruno Genesio's team had taken four points from a possible six against Manchester City in the group stage and recently won at home to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1.
They are still unbeaten in Europe this season, although this was their sixth consecutive draw.
"It's a satisfying result because it leaves us with a chance for the second leg, and we didn't concede. If we can score at the Camp Nou we'll have a chance of going through," said Genesio.
He admitted that he had hoped for an even better performance, but Lyon were missing their World Cup-winning captain Nabil Fekir due to suspension here.
It was the 21-year-old Terrier who surprisingly started in his place, and he delivered the most exciting moment of the first half for the crowd of almost 58,000 with a thunderous strike from 20 metres out in the ninth minute that was tipped onto the bar by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The same player later shot over at the end of a fantastic move, while Houssem Aouar had earlier been denied by the goalkeeper, but it was Barcelona who enjoyed the longer spells of possession.
Ousmane Dembele - one of two Frenchmen in the away line-up - came closest for them in the first half, although their best chances came after he had been replaced by Coutinho midway through the second period.
Suarez came within inches of breaking the deadlock 20 minutes from time, firing narrowly wide from Jordi Alba's cutback. He has now gone 16 away matches without scoring in the competition.
Coutinho had a powerful shot beaten away by Anthony Lopes, with the Lyon goalkeeper also frustrating Messi and Sergio Busquets as Barcelona dominated but departed without a potentially precious away goal.
"It is a little bit of a disappointment, but there is still the second leg to come and we hope to do better," said defender Clement Lenglet.
At least they extended their unbeaten record against Lyon to seven matches, but there remains hope for the French club ahead of the return.
Singapore Premier League side Hougang United have been forced to terminate the contract of their Brazilian striker Rafael Ramazotti after the Ramazotti, meanwhile, has been unveiled on Tuesday as a new player of FC Juarez, a Mexican club that plays in the second tier of the Mexican football
Rafael Ramazotti de Quadros - Wikipedia
Arsenal manager Unai Emery has been fined £8,000 by the Football Association for kicking a bottle which hit a Brighton fan during last week's Premier League match between the sides.
Arsenal boss Emery fined £8,000 for kicking water bottle
Mesut Ozil will return to the Arsenal squad for Saturday's Premier League visit of Burnley, with manager Unai Emery saying he believes the midfielder has a future at the Emirates Stadium.
Unai Emery says Mesut Ozil has a future at Arsenal | Football
Cristiano Ronaldo hamstring injury: Ronaldo eases Juventus
Two goals in two minutes has seen the Socceroos comfortably dispatch Palestine 3-0 at the Asian Cup. Socceroos bounce back at the Asian Cup with Palestine win | Sporting News Australia
Socceroos bounce back with comfortable win over Palestine
Speed key for Socceroos to catch Chile on the hop, writes Harry Kewell. Harry Kewell, News Corp Australia. June 13, 2014 2:09am. Share this on Facebook Vidal is a key player, a box-to-box man
Arnie's search for taegeuk in his Socceroos squad
Leroy Sane struck the winner as Manchester City beat Liverpool 2-1 in a gripping Premier League clash on Thursday, inflicting the first loss of the season on Juergen Klopp's side and cutting their
'Massive' victory gives Pochettino renewed belief. Jan 3, 2019, 5:00 am. Football: Proud Pochettino demands consistency from title-chasing Spurs. Jan 2, 2019, 5:09 am.
Mauricio Pochettino: Tottenham's win at Cardiff gives us
The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs developed a research agenda focused on positive youth development. Through a collaborative consensus-building process, representatives from federal agencies identified three research domains (conceptual issues, data sources and indicators, and program implementation and effectiveness) and key
20 - 24 Nov: MyFootballCamp 2017 - HYFA - ALL ABOUT CITY
Mauricio Pochettino accused Tottenham's players of arrogance and complacency after they threw away a lead to lose 2-1 at relegation-threatened Southampton. Spurs, buoyed by the news their new
Pochettino slams 'arrogant' Tottenham - rte.ie
Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina has been discharged from hospital and is recovering from his frightening collapse after a knock to Napoli keeper Ospina out of hospital after head injury scare .
Napoli goalkeeper Ospina out of hospital after head injury
Madrid, Nov 10 (IANS) Real Madrid's interim coach, Santiago Solari, on Saturday praised Welsh forward Gareth Bale while calling for patience with Spanish midfielder Isco Alarcon, who has yet to
Solari remains defiant as Real go out | ClubCall.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment