Valverde pleased with Barcelona's display
Barca coach says they are on track despite not scoring from 25 shots
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde shrugged off his team's struggles in front of goal after they were held to a 0-0 draw away at Lyon in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie yesterday morning (Singapore time).
Barcelona failed to score despite managing 25 shots,with only five of the visitors' attempts on target at the Groupama Stadium.
The Catalan giants 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 Nou Camp on March 13, but Lyon remain in the tie.
Barca'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."
"We came here to try and put in a good performance, but we couldn't get the goal. A tally of 25 shots is not bad... When you have so many shots, it means you played well and we did," added Barca defender Clement Lenglet.
"We just lacked a bit of confidence and I'm sure we'll score at the Nou Camp ."
The breakthrough might not come from Uruguay forward Luis Suarez, who has now gone 16 away matches without scoring in the competition.
"Let's see what happens in the Nou Camp, but it's always good to go away from home and not concede. Lyon played well and their goalkeeper was very good," said Lenglet.
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.
UNBEATEN IN EUROPE
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 Nou Camp, 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.
"We know that Fekir has what it takes, technically, to help us and to get that goal for us," said Genesio.
It was the 21-year-old Martin Terrier who surprisingly started in Fekir's 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 Suarez came within inches of breaking the deadlock 20 minutes from time, firing narrowly wide from Jordi Alba's cutback. - AFP, REUTERS
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