Barcelona things learned as they find Roma in a giving mood

So although Barca boss Ernesto Valverde will be happy with the result, he knows there’s plenty of room for improvement for his team.

SLOPPY BARCA RIDE THEIR LUCK

Never mind the four goals and the convincing scoreline: this was not a great performance from Barcelona, who needed Roma to score two own goals to move into a commanding position they didn’t really deserve.

Roma had looked threatening all night, and after Marc-Andre ter Stegen typified a collectively sloppy performance by nearly gifting a goal with a terrible clearance, Edin Dzeko appeared to have got his team right back into the contest only for another defensive lapse to gift Luis Suarez a fourth which has surely put this tie to bed.

Roma look the weakest of the eight quarter-finalists, but Barca were lucky to negotiate this first leg with such a comfortable margin and will be punished by any of the semi-finalists if they don’t sharpen up. There was a lack of fluency and tiredness throughout the team which will concern Valverde, who needs to find answers in the next few weeks.

MESSI STRUGGLES FOR RHYTHM

Having missed Argentina’s friendlies and only appearing from the bench against Sevilla on Saturday, this was Lionel Messi’s first start in 18 days – and it showed. The Argentina star was unusually sloppy in the first half in particular, being dispossessed on no less than seven occasions before the break.

His troubles continued in the second period, when he sent a pair of decent chances too close to visiting keeper Alisson and fired another presentable chance miles over the bar. Even his usual set-piece heroics were conspicuous by their absence, with a first-half effort sent straight into the wall.

Messi’s reaction at the final whistle spoke volumes: there was no celebration, just resting his hands on his thighs in frustration, knowing that he had contributed little to the win. But the bad news for everyone else is that he’s unlikely to play any worse for the remainder of the season.

VALVERDE PLAYS IT SAFE

Barca boss Ernesto Valverde sprang a surprise before kick-off, leaving Ousmane Dembele on the bench in favour of Nelson Semedo, who came into the right-back position while Sergi Roberto pushed forward into midfield.

If that decision was a clear sign that Valverde does not yet trust young Frenchman Dembele to maintain the team’s shape and structure, it also showed the Barca boss was determined to avoid handing Roma the big boost of an away goal to take back for the second leg.

Valverde will have remembered that Barca were rather fortunate not to concede in their previous home tie, the second leg against Chelsea, and he was keen to give his team more solidity on this occasion by using Roberto in midfield rather than Dembele.

It didn’t really work as Barca laboured through an unconvincing performance, but the manager’s pragmatic intentions were a good indication of his cautious mindset.