Ernesto Valverde Talks Antoine Griezmann, Frenkie de Jong After Barcelona's Win

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde praised summer signings Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong after Saturday's 3-0 win over Eibar at Ipurua.

Griezmann grabbed his fourth goal for Barcelona and picked up an assist in the victory, and Valverde expects the forward's relationship with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to improve, per Ander Barroso at Marca:

"It's a question of time and of playing matches, In the end, great players always find each other and know where their teammates will be and know where the pass will go.

"They've participated and worked very hard. This is the reward. They scored a goal each, they understood each other well. The new players are finding their place and trying to understand each other. It's a question of time before they understand each other better."

Saturday's win saw Griezmann, Messi and Suarez all score for Barcelona in the same match for the first time:

Griezmann opened the scoring from a Clement Lenglet pass and was also involved in Barcelona's two other strikes. He nudged the ball to Messi in the penalty area for Barca's second and sent the captain racing away to tee up Suarez for their third goal.

The Frenchman's strike was also his first away from home for Barcelona, and his first on his travels in La Liga for eight months, as shown by The Spanish Football Podcast:

Valverde also spoke about De Jong who also played a key role in the win in midfield alongside Arthur and Sergio Busquets, per Barroso.

"He's having a great start to the season," he said. "We've seen that he gives us a lot for the strength that he has, as much in attack as in defence. This is why the crowd recognised him."

Sports journalist Jonas Giaever offered his thoughts on De Jong's performance:

The midfielder made way in the 79th minute for Ivan Rakitic and received an ovation from the home fans after a performance "full of impressive technical skill and ball control," per Marca's M. Carmen Torres.

Valverde also spoke after the match about his decision to hand fit-again Samuel Umtiti a first start of the season in defence.

The centre-back replaced the suspended Gerard Pique and was handed the start over Jean-Clair Todibo, who featured against Sevilla in Barcelona's last fixture before the international break, per Sport's Ivan San Antonio.

"It was a decision I had to think a lot about because Todibo did well in the last game. But keeping in mind the opposition, the stadium and how they play, we needed experience and security to defend the crosses from out wide. It's true Samu's not played for a while, but this was a special game."

Barcelona's victory at Ipurua is their fourth La Liga win in a row and sees them move temporarily to the top of the table ahead of Real Madrid and Granada.