With a close 2-1 victory against Alaves on Sunday, Barcelona got back to winning ways after suffering a midweek defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
Xavi Hernandez discussed the team’s mindset and the difficult phase they are going through in his post-game remarks. He talked about a number of other subjects, such as Robert Lewandowski’s performance.
“Positionally we weren’t bad, but we suffered a lot with lost possessions and transitions, especially with Samu,” Xavi said in his opening statement, addressing the team’s positioning issues.
“Positionally we weren’t bad, but we suffered a lot with lost possessions and transitions, especially with Samu,” Xavi said in his opening statement, addressing the team’s positioning issues.
Though the squad was having difficulties, Xavi praised their attitude, saying, “We showed our attitude to win a match that was going badly for us, even though we are not in our best moment.”
The coach wasn’t afraid to call out defensive errors, saying, “I believe Gündogan’s error cost us the first goal. And then, pretty immediately thereafter, we conceded a second goal. The match was unattractive.
In fact, Barcelona’s defense has fallen short of that of the previous year, giving up goals on a regular basis. This season, we’re throwing away absurd and terrible goals. Regarding the team’s defensive shortcomings, Xavi stated, “That did not happen last season, and that’s the reason we have less points.”
In less than eighteen seconds, we gave up a goal. We have to alter the dynamic because it is intolerable,” he continued.
Robert Lewandowski was another standout performer on the evening, helping Barcelona win all three points with two goals.
Xavi talked about how dependable Robert Lewandowski is, saying, “Lewandowski is always there for us.” Our goal in crossing is to assault a deep block. One of the world’s top strikers is on our team.
“The international break will be good for us to reconnect, think things through, and improve,” Xavi said, looking ahead to the future. I’m confident that we’ll become better. The squad demonstrated today that we are a really good team.
Xavi provided tactical analysis of the match and said, “The team performed well for about 35 minutes in the second half.” We knew what to do. At halftime, I told the players to cool off. In my opinion, the first half-hour of the second half saw us play well.
“We intended to play vertically right from the start, with Ronald up top. We had no desire to play from the back. He continued, “Usually, Gündo doesn’t lose possession in that way.
“The guys were all quite tense, so I told them to calm down. This is a result of everything that is currently going on around the club. Order and placement were the keys to winning this match. We had to be patient and connect with our teammates on schedule. We spent about 30 minutes doing that,” he continued.
Xavi stated, “We’re in a very sad state, the most difficult part of the season,” in a more general sense. Similar to Anoeta, the match was becoming really ugly.
Speaking to outside influences, Xavi said, “When I talk about Barça’s entourage, I mean the press, not the fans.” The football players are impacted by their comments and perform poorly as a result.
“The players are impacted by the criticism; I am not affected by it. It’s evident in their faces. “People said that I was Barça’s cancer, and now I’m the manager,” he continued.
Without holding back, Xavi continued, saying, “I have no doubts that the team is being impacted by the press criticism.” I can now see it because it happened to me when I was a player. The squad is being negatively impacted by a tremendous wave of negativity.
Nonetheless, the Barça coach did not hold back when praising the opposition. He remarked, “We had discussed Alavés’ excellent counterattacking skills.”
In the end, Xavi expressed satisfaction with the outcome and was thrilled to secure three points before leaving for the forthcoming international break.
“I think the match went really well. It was a poor start, as we conceded an unachievable goal. We had opportunities after that, we were prepared, and we won the game,” he remarked.
“The team is experiencing stress that wasn’t there even a month ago. Our dynamic needs to shift,” the coach continued. “Today, I was really gentle with the players. I believe that they required love rather than rage.
Xavi Hernandez is obviously aware of the negative attention that Barcelona is currently receiving. Nonetheless, the coach hopes to get the most out of his team.
Indeed, it is true. We are at a difficult time. But despite everything, we were able to win a game, and that’s really good,” he remarked. “My players are being impacted by the criticism and hatred that surround the squad. Most of all, the children. It doesn’t really effect veterans like Lewandowski and Iñigo.
“I never consider the bad aspects of things. I merely make an effort to find answers to our issues. solutions that will enable our players to have fun while playing. They don’t seem to be having fun right now, Xavi continued.
Lastly, Xavi emphasized the significance of adopting the proper mindset, particularly when attempting to compete at the greatest level.
“In order for the football players to provide their utmost effort, we must demand more from them. It’s also crucial that they were able to muster the courage needed to prevail when things weren’t going well, Xavi said.