The Atletico collapse was not Valverde's fault

Barcelona again fell to a humiliating collapse, this time to Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana semi-final, and all targets have been placed on Ernesto Valverde's head.

Barcelona again fell to a humiliating collapse, this time to Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana semi-final, and all targets have been placed on Ernesto Valverde's head.

The coach was whistled before the game even started and the Barcelona fans present didn't exactly warm to him by the end.

It's true that under his watch Barcelona have given up leads in big games at Roma and Liverpool, and now Atletico.

These three defeats have a common denominator: switching off.

This Thursday saw more of the same. They led 2-1 until the 81st minute and ended up losing 3-2.

But Valverde can't be blamed, not for his XI nor his approach.

He made changes, which were slightly late, but he couldn't do much to prevent what happened. In normal circumstances, that's a game the Catalans would have gone on to win 3-1 or 4-1.

Barcelona did well in the summer to stick with a coach who has delivered two LaLiga Santander titles, a Supercopa de Espana and a Copa del Rey, but his critics point to his shortcomings in Europe.

A lot of games, a single plan
Barcelona need a revolution at all levels, but not right now.

Valverde has enough credit to see him through until the end of the season at least, but what happens in the Champions League will likely decide everything.

Even with Valverde's failings, it's hard to argue against him being one of the best Spanish coaches around at the moment and, in truth, probably the most suited to guiding Barcelona.

As well, Spain could do worse than to appoint him as national team coach in the future.