Barça's coach praises team's performance, attitude

FC Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde paid tribute to his team's mindset on Friday, despite gaining only one point in the last two matches in La Liga.

The Blaugrana suffered a 2-1 away defeat to Leganes on Wednesday and had played to a 2-2 home draw with Girona on September 23, reports Efe news.

"My team have always had an extraordinary attitude. Whenever we have conceded a goal, we've reacted. It's true that we have to improve, even when we win games," Valverde said at the press conference.

Valverde was asked why he described the last defeat as an "accident," and he explained: "It is very rarely that a team concedes two goals in one minute stretch. From that point of view, it's an accident."

Regarding Saturday's match, Barça's manager said Athletic club was a different team than its last rival, Leganes.

"It will be an intense match. Athletic are a team with a great willpower and will come looking for us," Valverde said.

"One of the keys of the game will be to overcome the high pressure of Athletic, the team that has a lot of personality and always want to dominate the game through ball possession," he added.

Barcelona is set to take on Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou stadium on Saturday.

--IANS

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