2023-11-06 18:40:54
The Catalans coach spoke this Monday before facing Shakhtar Donetsk this Tuesday.
FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said on Monday that his team was “halfway to becoming a great Barça again», while the Catalans have the opportunity to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2021 against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday.
«We fulfilled our duties, we took nine points out of nine. Qualification is the first goal, tomorrow we have a fantastic opportunity to achieve it and we cannot let it pass», Declared Xavi at a press conference on the eve of the match (6:45 p.m. Tuesday). “The second objective is to finish at the top of the group“, he added. Barca are currently three points ahead of second-placed Porto in Group H.
Criticized by the press because his good results are not often accompanied by manner at the start of the season, the Catalan technician replied that he wanted “find excellence» through collective play, but that “it would take time». «We want to produce great football and win with plenty of goals, it’s the perfect film. But that won’t happen every game. (…) We must continue to be patient, humble and hardworking“, insisted Xavi.
Returning from injury, French defender Jules Koundé, who preceded his coach in front of the press, also concedes that the Blaugrana “know they need to improve” in the game. “Sometimes we need to be more focused. In defense, we are exposing ourselves too much and that is something we are working on. We are a young team with a lot of room for improvement and we need to correct these details», added the former Bordeaux player.
Repositioned in central defense since the arrival of Portuguese full-back Joao Cancelo, the French international says “happy to progress in his position» where he feels «more comfortable“, more “will never refuse» to play again on the right, as in the French team.
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