Ernesto Valverde hails Barcelona belief after comeback win at Real Sociedad

Barca had lost five of their previous seven LaLiga games at Sociedad and were trailing 2-0 when Willian Jose's header and Juanmi's deflected strike put the hosts in charge.

Paulinho pulled one back before half-time and Luis Suarez turned the game on its head with a brace, the first a brilliant chipped finish, before Lionel Messi converted a long-range free-kick to earn Barca a battling 4-2 victory.

Valverde admitted the hosts started the game better but was pleased with the way his players fought back.

He told Barcelona's website: "In the first half they were better than us but we also started well. They scored from their first chance and we looked for a goal.

" The best thing is we believed we could do it at a tough away ground in a game where the rival had the measure of us."

Valverde saw his side stretch their lead at the top of the table to nine points but guarded against complacency.

He added: " You can drop points at any ground. There are good teams in the league, but I leave here with the feeling that we are a hard team to beat.

" The key has been not to start (the season) with big ambitions, but to take everything one step at a time and not interpret anything as a catastrophe. You have to remove yourself from those things and stay together; this is crucial. We hope we can continue like this and keep improving."

Suarez took his recent goal tally to eight in his last six Barcelona appearances.

He said: "Luckily the bad run here in LaLiga is over. I am happy we have won at such a difficult away ground.

"The best way to finish the first round of fixtures is by winning, by turning a game around which we were losing."

Sociedad coach Eusebio Sacristan was disappointed his side did not maintain their level from the first half after the break.

In quotes on the club Twitter feed, he said: "We have not maintained the level in the second half. We have to get that defensive consistency. We must be strong, stable, and consistent."