Sant Joan Despí (Barcelona), Apr 9 – Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández acknowledged that his team has lacked “maturity” in “big” matches, such as in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Real Madrid (0-4), although he recalled that winning LaLiga would have “extraordinary value”.
Xavi acknowledges Barcelona’s lack of maturity in big matches
At a press conference, the Egara coach described Monday’s match against Girona as “very important”, with which his team wants to redeem itself from the defeat in the last clásico and enjoy a fifteen-point lead over Real Madrid, who lost to Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday.
“Tomorrow’s game is even more important because we can leave Real Madrid 15 points behind with 30 to play. It’s an opportunity and we can’t fail. We want to be champions and tomorrow is one more step. It would give us a very important margin,” he said.
All in all, Xavi foresees a “complicated match” against Girona, a team that, in his opinion, does things “very well”. “It will cost us for sure, but with the help of the fans and the defeat of Real Madrid we are more motivated to go for the game,” he added.
Xavi sees winning LaLiga as the key to stability and success for Barcelona
The coach urged his players to turn the page on the elimination of the Copa del Rey, which he defined as “a chestnut” that should serve his players to mature with a view to the future.
“We have won the Spanish Super Cup and we have LaLiga on track. We have reached the semifinal of the Cup and in Europe we have not competed well. We are still under construction and during this construction you have to win titles. We have won one title and we are on our way to winning another,” he added.
For this reason, Xavi insisted that lifting LaLiga, a title that the azulgrana club has not won since the 2018-19 season, would be the “hostess” and would give “stability” to the work done this season.
To put in value to the domestic competition, the coach remarked that they have competed against Real Madrid, “reigning champion of LaLiga and the ‘Champions’,” he specified.
However, he acknowledged that his team must “recover the good sensations” that, in his opinion, they showed in the first half of the clásico copero before Real Madrid scored the first goal of the match.
Asked about other current azulgrana names such as Sergio Busquets, who has not yet renewed his contract that ends next June 30, Xavi wants to convince the captain to continue one more season.
“If everything goes well, he can leave with titles; and he would leave at a good time. I fully understand that he is hesitating, but I will insist that he continues,” he added.
He also praised Ez Abde, a player owned by Barcelona who this season is playing on loan at Osasuna, of whom he said that he is “making very good use” of the opportunities he is enjoying in Pamplona.
“When he returns from the loan, we will evaluate him. He can be an important piece in the future,” he said of the Moroccan striker.