Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said on Monday that his team was… “Halfway to becoming great Barcelona again.”The Catalan team has the opportunity to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2021 against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday.
“We did our homework, we got nine points out of nine. Qualification is the first goal, and tomorrow we have a great opportunity to achieve that and we cannot let it pass us by.”Xavi said this in a press conference on the eve of the match (6:45 pm Tuesday).
“The second goal is to finish the season at the top of the group.”, he added. Barcelona is currently three points ahead of Porto, which is second in Group H.
Mixed victories
The press criticized him because his good results are not often accompanied by style at the beginning of the season, so the Catalan technician replied that he wanted “Rediscovering excellence” Through group play, however “It will take time”.
“We want to play great football and win a lot of goals, it’s the perfect movie. But that won’t happen in every game. […] We must continue to be patient, humble and work hard.”Xavi insisted.
French defender Jules Kounde, who returned from injury, and who preceded his coach, admitted to the press that the Blaugrana “They know they need to improve.” in the game.
“Sometimes we have to be more focused. In defence, we expose ourselves a lot and that is something we are working on. We are a young team and have a lot of room for improvement and we need to correct these details.The former Bordeaux player added.
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His position at centre-back has changed since the arrival of Portuguese full-back Joao Cancelo, says the France international “Happy with the development in his position.” Where he feels ” more comfortable “but “He will never refuse” To play again on the right flank, as is the case in the French national team.
