Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has acknowledged that the Blaugrana suffered against Borussia Dortmund during the opening game of the Champions League group stage. The Spanish champions dominated the possession against Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park but they were second best when it came to creating chances on goal.
He told: “The result is what is it. We suffered a lot and you have to admit that. They arrived with more danger and we were missing some depth in the last few metres. They had the penalty, they hit the post. They are very strong at home, this is the start and it was a tough match for us. There were some moments when we lost the ball in important zones and they got three or four counters and it complicated things for us but Marc was really good. And while we dominated the end of the game, we hardly had any chances.”
Barcelona may have earned just the single point from the game and that could prove useful during the latter stages of the group, considering Inter Milan remain another tricky opposition for them. The Nerazzurri appeared on course to suffer a shock 1-0 defeat to Slavia Prague but they salvaged a point right at the end after Nicolo Barella scored in stoppage time.
As a result, all teams are tied on one point apiece after the opening matchday and the Blaugrana can consider the stalemate as a positive, given they were second best at different stages of the game. Meanwhile, there was another boost with Lionel Messi making a long-awaited comeback from a calf problem and the Argentine could make his first start of the season against Granada this weekend.