We were blown away, says Valverde

Ernesto Valverde admitted Barcelona had only themselves to blame for their "terrible" Champions League semifinal collapse against Liverpool on Tuesday.

Barca boss Valverde conceded his players failed to match Liverpool's intensity and lost their cool after the Reds scored twice in quick succession in the second half to level the tie on aggregate.

"Things got on top of us after those two quick goals. We didn't manage to get on the scoresheet and they rolled us over really," he said.

"It's a terrible result for our fans and for ourselves. It's really, really unfortunate, but credit to Liverpool.

"They started really well, and they pinned us back. Early goal, we reacted well after that.

"We managed to control things a little bit in the second part of the first half. We had half-chances to score.

"We tried to sit a little bit deeper, but the tie ended for us with the fourth goal. We couldn't respond."

Valverde has just led Barca to another Spanish title, but he was asked if the collapse at Anfield would undermine his position at the Camp Nou.

"I do not know how it's going to affect me, here we are, the coach has to take responsibility," he said. "It's very painful for us, especially for our people, it's the second year they've come back like that.

"When you have a battle like tonight, you're going to go through some really tough few days, like all our fans as well.

"You're going to suffer. That's what it is like. You have to go through this penitence and we've not got long to go until the end of the league season.

"We've got the Copa del Rey final (against Valencia) still to fight for and we've got to really finish the season well on a high after this.

"But at the moment we're blown away, it's terrible."