I lost my confidence, says Mathieu

Jeremy Mathieu has opened up about his early struggles at Barcelona by admitting he "lost confidence" after being criticised as the club stuttered towards the end of the year.

The France defender joined Barca for €20 million from Valencia and signed a four-year deal with the Catalans but injuries hampered his attempts to make a good first impression at Camp Nou
Mathieu has since settled into Luis Enrique's side and impressed during their 3-1 victory over
Villarreal in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg on Wednesday.


"From the beginning I felt very comfortable in the team," said the 31-year-old. "At some point I lost a little confidence, but in practice I try to give 100 per cent.

"I've had a bad time but now I'm back to my level. I'm happy with my game against Villarreal."
Mathieu added that he and his team-mates must not start dreaming of the final just yet with a tough second leg at El Madrigal on the horizon on March 4.

"Villarreal have a good team and are very strong collectively," he added.
"Our team has incredible patience, though, and we will move to contain them."