Xavi talks Gatusso, Alba, Balde, Pique following Valencia 0-1 Barcelona

Barcelona continued their excellent start to the domestic campaign by securing yet another narrow 1-0 victory over Valencia.

The win helps them momentarily move to the top of the league table, with Real Madrid having a game in hand. The result should also go a long way in helping the fans and the board reinstil faith in coach Xavi Hernandez.

Speaking after the game, Xavi highlighted his team’s performance, suggesting that it was far from a walk in the park for Barça.

“It was not an excellent match by any means. We played with a bit of anxiety today. I think we were affected by Wednesday,” Xavi said. “With the bad dynamic we’ve been having this season, when Lewandowski scored, my first thought was: ‘They’ll disallow it’.”

“We were better than Valencia and we deserved that winner. We are very happy with 3 points. The team deserved it. It gives us confidence and morale.”

The Barcelona coach added that the team has improved much since he was appointed, but stressed the importance of improving further and coping with the pressure well.

“I think that in the 11 months I have been here, the team has improved a lot,” Xavi said. “We have to play much better, and take better decisions. When you don’t win, everybody’s alarm goes off. This is Barcelona.”

Xavi revealed that even club president Joan Laporta was happy with the result, adding, “Laporta told me that these three points are very important and that goals in the last minutes are crucial. The president is very happy with the result, we needed to win. I will celebrate every win here.“

Xavi went on to praise some of the top performers of the night, including veteran Jordi Alba and Barça captains. “The captains are very committed. Jordi Alba has played very well. I appreciate everyone’s commitment,” he said.

Talking about the opposition, Xavi added, “Today they were not as offensive, but generally I like Gattuso’s approach, it’s an exciting team. We had analyzed Valencia, and we expected them to press higher up the pitch than they did. Alejandro Balde was the free man today. Valencia were leaving him free.”

The Barcelona coach offers his thoughts on Gerard Pique as well, whilst providing an update on the injury of Jules Kounde.

“Piqué was not wearing boots nor shin guards because he didn’t expect to come on. No time to warm up, either,” he said. “Koundé has strong discomfort, but it doesn’t look like an injury.”

However, Xavi believes there is no time to be complacent and it could be imperative for Barcelona to beat Viktoria Plzen in the final Champions League group stage match next week.

“Let’s forget the result and focus on what we did well and what we did wrong. We have to beat Plzen to improve our morale. As of now, we’re going to sleep as the league leaders, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

The post Xavi talks Gatusso, Alba, Balde, Pique following Valencia 0-1 Barcelona appeared first on Barca Universal.

from Barca Universal https://ift.tt/JmGNe73
via IFTTT