Ernesto Valverde reflects on early results of his Barcelona tenure

On Tuesday (24 December), FC Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde took time out of his holiday to discuss Barca's recent results, how tight La Liga is this season and the impact of the injuries to Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele.

"I think there has been good moments throughout the year. I think we will always choose those moments of victory. Also those moments during which we were doing well. As the team consolidated and things started to work better. Then you have things where there is room for improvement. We've also had important snags. And looking in perspective we want things to improve in the new year."

"We've been improving along the way. Because we didn't have a good start of the league. In fact we started losing our first game. Right now we are up there at the top of the chart. Obviously we still have a lot ahead in la Liga. Also, in Champions League we are doing good with those goals we set ourselves every season. And because you keep achieving them it may seem an easy thing to do. But it isn't. Like assuring the passing to the next stage one match day before the end of the group stage."

"It was a typical low-scoring game. With difficulties to pass the ball. Except for last year's exception when we were clearly superior and won 5-1, Real Madrid always plays well at our stadium. It's always a very tough match. It was complicated for us to avoid their pressure. Hence the 0-0 result. We had more clear scoring occasions. But at times they really dominated the game."

"We have won two La Liga titles with a big gap in points with our immediate rivals. I think it was a great success. And we enjoyed that during the season. We won both during the month of April. We could have won more titles for the club. But we must enjoy what we've got."

"I see him getting more and more integrated with the team. It isn't easy for a player coming from a team with such big difference in style to get used to the dynamics of our team. Both in the way we train and also with our level of competitiveness. But he adds up many things to our team."

"He is displaying great level. I think the same level he had before his arrival. I think he can still get better. Like playing faster and having more participation in those decisive last yards. Because he has the capacity to do that. Both scoring goals and also assisting others to score. I think he can improve. And we must insist on that."

"We must think of the difficulties we've had this year. It is true we've lost three games. We've lost a game against Athletic (Bilbao) during the last minute. We've also lost two games we didn't expect to lose. We've lost against Levante and Granada. But if we look a bit back to the previous season, I think during the first half of 2019 we've only lost a single league game. Against Celta. And we were already champions. It isn't normal losing against Granada or Levante. Specially during a match like the one against Levante when things looked well. It's true we failed there. But also, it isn't normal to never lose. "

"Taking into account the relevance of Champions League and what it means to all of us, it was very important for us to have things already sorted before arriving at that last match day at Inter's stadium. We didn't want to arrive there with the classification still in doubt. It was a very tough Champions League group stage. "

"In any case we are already at a stage in which nothing is easy. You can't falter. It's an all or nothing situation. In this case we have the advantage of playing the second leg at home. But Champions League isn't the same as La Liga. You have ten or five bad minutes, a couple of mistakes, and you're out. We must learn from what happened to us and try to improve it."

"Evidently having such significance absence clearly affected us. I think that, especially at home, we played very good games without him. We played very well against Valencia and Betis. But we were having difficulties playing away from home. And that spark and magic Leo has when he plays was missing. And, of course, is impossible not to miss his absence. And then he was back in competition. But added to his time out of the pitch there it was the fact that he hadn't done a pre-season. And that always makes things more difficult to a player. Especially from a physical shape standpoint. But he rapidly reconnected. He's already scoring lots of goals. And I think he's already in full shape."

"I think this last one has been especially cruel to him. He was very focused, compromised and working well. Dembele is a player with so many qualities, and we are always expecting to see the full of them being displayed on the pitch. We want to see him happy and doing things for us. And it seemed we were finally getting there. He was getting there from all points of view. And this has been a significant blow. Also for his mood."

"This isn't about just this season. It has been the case since a while ago. It's been a constant growth. I think this year they will conquer the league title, without a doubt. As for Champions League, last season they conquered the milestone of reaching the final. But in this competition you still have countries with such high level and it will be complicated."