Ter Stegen fumes at Barca's defending after defeat by Juve

Catalans suffered a 3-0 defeat by the Italian giants in their UCL Group G meeting

BARCELONA:

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen lamented his side's inability to defend after they were out-classed by Juventus 3-0 in their Champions League Group G meeting on Tuesday.

Barca, who made sloppy mistakes leading directly to goals during their weekend defeat to Cadiz in La Liga, again looked shaky in defence throughout.

They conceded two penalties and were fortunate the losing margin was not greater after a second-half goal from Leonardo Bonucci was disallowed for offside.

"There's two things. One is making an individual mistake, the other is how you defend," Ter Stegen told Movistar.

"Whenever we make the slightest mistake, opponents are taking advantage and scoring goals and that's really tough.

"I don't think we were ready for them. We made some mistakes that you simply can't make and Juventus have such quality that they can create chances and score goals out of nothing."

Barcelona were set to finish top of the group, having beaten Juventus 2-0 in Turin, only for the Italian champions to better the result and move above them thanks to a better head-to-head record.

Finishing second means the Catalans will, in theory, face tougher round-of-16 opponents when the draw is made on Monday.

"We've lost a game we shouldn't have tonight. It is what it is. We've finished second; we wanted to finish top," Ter Stegen said.

"In the Champions League, whether you finish first or second you're not going to have it easy against any opponent you draw. We know we must improve."