Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde called Lionel Messi extraordinary.
The new manager of Barcelona, Ernesto Valverde, who is still getting to know his team, was all praise for the star striker Lionel Messi and the Spanish side after they defeated Real Madrid 3-2 in a thrilling Clasico on Sunday.
Messi opened the scoring for Barca, after which Neymar helped with two assists. The 53-year old Spanish manager said, “Messi is simply extraordinary. We made a good start, generated some good opportunities. Overall, we did well trying to dominate the match.”
He stressed that the team is aiming to win all the trophies this season. “I expect the best from Messi and all the players but he is extraordinary and we are aiming to win all the titles this season,” he said.
Neymar has been the centrebone of transfer talks with many parts of the media suggesting that this was his last match. “I don’t want to speculate about Neymar,” Valverde said. “I see him in the same place I have seen him recently on the pitch with us.”
Los Blancos manager Zinedine Zidane said that the game was not so important and the side is preparing for August 8, when they face Manchester United in the Super Cup. “Today was a game of two faces for us, one bad, one better,” he said. “Ultimately we are preparing for the eighth — we will be ready.”
“We started quite bad, two goals in six, seven minutes. Obviously, there’s nothing more you can say about that, that’s a lack of concentration. Overall, we can’t be too positive with the way things were.”
