Valverde's conservative style caught up with him Champions League - Roma 3-0 Barcelona Luis F. Rojo analyses the defeat

Ernesto Valverde is conservative. He doesn't like to risk much and on Tuesday night that approach took its toll. Firstly, he paid for his lineups and the fact he's hardly rotated, especially in this final stretch of the season. Valverde has put everything on winning LaLiga and by focussing on avoiding losing a championship that was already won he has burnt out his players.

The lack of freshness was clear to see in Rome. It wasn't just in that match, though, as it had been coming. The match in Sevilla was the clearest example. Barcelona were burnt out in a competition in which they couldn't use Philippe Coutinho.

The first goal they conceded was a clear example of the lack of intensity and freshness. Nobody pressured Daniele De Rossi when he had all the time in the world to pick out Edin Dzeko. The lack of coordination between Samuel Umtiti and Jordi Alba when it came to defending the Roma striker was also evident. You can't give anything away in Europe.

Valverde's conservatism was also seen through the way the team was set up, as they were more worried about conceding goals than scoring their own away goal to kill the tie.

The poor management of the substitutions was the icing on the cake. When Barcelona were behind on the night, even if still ahead in the tie, he didn't want to turn to an offensive solution like Ousmane Dembele when there was still space. By the time the Frenchman came on, Roma had scored their free goals and had retreated in defence. It was a wasted opportunity.