Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic lauded teammate Lionel Messi, after the Argentine was pivotal for the Catalans in their 4-2 win over Tottenham.
Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino feels his side deserved a point in their 4-2 defeat to Barcelona where the Catalan's Ernesto Valverde also gives his thoughts.
A Lionel Messi brace helps Barcelona hold off Tottenham while Liverpool suffer defeat at the hands of Napoli.
Before the game, Tottenham supporters were confident of victory. However, Barcelona's genius of a No. 10 made them eat their words!
The ESPN FC crew were full of praise for Barcelona's offense, led by captain Leonel Messi, in their win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham's Fernando Llorente has said Barcelona are the favourites to win the Champions League following their impressive showing at Wembley on Wednesday.
The Spanish champions beat Tottenham 4-2 in their Champions League Group B clash for their second triumph in as many games in the competition.
Llorente, who replaced goalscorer Erik Lamela in the 79th minute of the game, told Cadena Ser radio that it will be hard for any team to stop Barcelona.
"If Barca play as they have against us, it will be difficult for anyone to beat them," he said. "This game was very important for us but Barca played a great game and deserved the win."
Llorente hailed Lionel Messi, who scored twice at Wembley and received wide praise for his performance.
"I've seen a great Messi, with a lot of hunger," Llorente said. "He was impressive not just with the ball but also defending. You could see that he was very, very well."
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone labelled Antoine Griezmann "the best player in the world" after he scored twice in a 3-1 win over Club Brugge on Wednesday, but Llorente disagreed and reserved praise for Messi and teammate Harry Kane.
"I haven't seen anyone have the level that Messi has on anyone," he said. "Harry proved he is one of the best strikers in the world.
"He scored a fantastic goal when we were down, 2-0. Thanks to him, the team believed it was possible. We did try, we all rowed in the same direction but it was not to be."
Llorente admitted the Wembley pitch was not up to the standard it should have been.
Anthony Joshua's world title fight against Alekander Povetkin was staged at Wembley on Sept. 22 and the Wembley groundsmen struggled to restore the pitch to its usual state.
"It's unusual for the pitch to be in that state," Llorente said. "But they have used the stadium for events like concerts and fights and they have spoiled it."
Wednesday's game was just the third of the season for Llorente, with all of his appearances coming from the bench.
"We all would like to play as many minutes as possible but it's complicated," he said. "I'm training as hard as I can in order to gain more playing time. I have to continue to fight to earn more minutes."
Asked if coach Mauricio Pochettino does not see his game compatible with that of Kane, Llorente told Onda Cero radio that he is still trying to prove himself useful to the team.
"He doesn't see it," he said. "But I need to continue to prove that I can help. I don't speak much to him [Pochettino] but he is trusting other players. The truth is that the level is very high. It can't be easy for him."
Llorente was a member of the Spain squads that won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. After leaving Athletic Bilbao in 2013, he had spells at Juventus and Sevilla before leaving for the Premier League in 2016 to join Swansea City.
Llorente's contract with Spurs ends next summer and he is considering a return to Spain.
"I'm playing less than I would like to," Llorente said. "To return to [Athletic] Bilbao? Bilbao is my home and if I receive any offer from Athletic, it's clear that I would evaluate it. Why not?
"I would be thrilled to return to Athletic but I haven't had any offers from them."
Source: espn.co.uk