Although FC Barcelona have advanced to the UEFA Champions League knock-out rounds after a gap of two years, the Catalans could not conclude the first stage of their tournament with a victory. The Blaugranes lost to the Belgian side Royal Antwerp with a 3-2 scoreline.
This defeat will not have any impact on either side’s chances of advancing to the Round of Sixteen, but Barcelona have still come under heavy criticism for being unable to win a match against a side that was unable to get even a single point in the group stage.
This criticism was the main subject addressed by Ferran Torres as he talked to the media after the match. As SPORT has reported, Torres was clear that there is pressure on Barcelona after this loss, but his side will turn things around:
“We know what Barça is like; they try to break us, and make us nervous, but from there, we’ll turn this around. There’s always a lot of external noise, but we have to live with it.”
The Spaniard also clarified that the team was fully united behind Xavi:
“We’re fully behind the coach and his approach. It’s easy to criticize the coach, but the ones on the field are us, the players.”
Still, the winger admitted that the team was not expecting to get a loss in this match, and was disappointed with the result:
“We’re the first ones disappointed; we have to improve, and we know we haven’t portrayed a good image.”
Barcelona will be facing one of Ferran Torres’ former sides, Valencia, in their upcoming La Liga match, which he referred to as “a complicated match this weekend”. He advocated focusing on the league now that the main objective of advancing to the knockout rounds of the Champions League has been achieved.
