Ernesto Valverde has said that he is 'fully responsible' for Barcelona's shock exit from the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
Barca went into the second leg sitting on a 4-1 advantage, only to lose 3-0 on the night at the Stadio Olimpico to crash out on away goals.
An inquest is already underway following Barca's fourth quarter-final exit in five seasons, and Valverde has admitted that he must accept the blame for the manner of his side's "disjointed" performance in the Italian capital.
"We had no response, everything went for them and for us we struggled to build our play," he told reporters. "I am responsible absolutely; I am the visible head of the team and it was down to me. With their pressure it forced us to knock balls long, we became disjointed and we were not able to win the second ball.
"When you lose and the opposition are better then the analysis is often extreme. They were strong, physical and we had a lot of problems. Seasons are long and to win a competition is not easy, with only one winning.
"We know how disappointing this will be for the fans and us, we wanted to play a semi final, this is football. Everyone is now affected by this but we need to bounce back because we have two competitions that we want to win."
Barcelona face Valencia and Celta Vigo in La Liga before their Copa del Rey final clash against Sevilla on April 21.
Daniel Lewis
