Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has explained that it is not all bad news when his side loses after Saturday's shock defeat to Levante. The Spanish coach insisted that defeat only "forces" his men to "react" with him anticipating a swift turnaround for the Catalans ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Sparta Prague.
Over the weekend, Barcelona squandered an opportunity to take a commanding lead atop La Liga by falling to a surprising 3-1 defeat inside the Ciutat de Valencia. A collapse in defense saw Los Blaugrana conceding three goals in the space of seven minutes in the second-half before Lionel Messi grabbed a consolation from the penalty spot.
Despite the rivals of the Camp Nou outfit failing relegate them to lower position, the pressure on Valverde to get things right still remains on a high. Ahead of Tuesday's European clash with Sparta, the former Athletic Club manager has explained the need for his side to lose sometimes albeit acknowledging that it generates tension.
"It is clear that, when you lose, you have more tension," Valverde said at the prematch presser.
"We know what it means to lose. There is always a swell of pressure. We know that it is the case, and that is fine because it forces us to react.
"I know that the general tendency is to get off the table if we do well or sink if we lose. I try to maintain a balance.
"When we lose a game, I try to find the football reasons. At the beginning of the season, we were not well, especially away from home. Then we had a three-game winning streak.
"The other day [against Levante], when we had everything on track, we lost it in a minute. We have to ask ourselves why we have lost and the game situations that led to this [happening]."
