Zapping World Eleven EXCLUDED: Youssouf Fofana’s “Little brother” interview!
Xavi gave his first press conference since the elimination of FC Barcelona in the Europa League. He was obviously questioned about this setback at Manchester United but remains no less ambitious for the end of the season with La Liga and the King’s Cup in sight. Words reported by Sport.
On his message after the European disappointment
“That the season continued, that we have other goals… The biggest disappointment this season was the defeat in the Champions League. It hurts too, but now we are going to compete for the League and the Cup. We want keep winning titles and we’ve got two at stake. That’s the message. Get up, yesterday the sun came out, today too… Onward.”
On elimination in the Europa League
“We have to learn from these games. People can’t keep an eye on Thursday’s game, even though it’s a classic. Tomorrow we have a very important game and we have to focus on it. We have to think positive, “We don’t like to lose, I think we deserved more, but that’s football. And now we have to focus 200% on La Liga and the Copa del Rey. That’s the way to succeed this season. “
About Almería
“I can’t get into Rubi’s head, here they had defended with five. I imagine that after the defeat in Girona they will do like that, they will be very defensive… But you have to dominate in all contexts. “
About Dembele
“He is doing very well, he is with the recuperators, yesterday I saw him training. He is not one hundred percent but he is close to returning. We will value his feelings and they will mark his return, we will not don’t want to force.”
If winning La Liga would save the season
“It would be a very good season, yes. Every time La Liga are won it becomes a great season. We have hopes of winning La Liga and the Cup, the Super Cup having already been won… It would be a great season.”
On Araujo and Fati
“Araujo has nothing, he is perfectly available. And Ansu will be absent against Almería but we hope to have him by Thursday.”
On the transfer window
“The objective is to have a competitive team, to be able to have alternatives… But obviously, on each transfer window, the club must strengthen itself to be able to have alternatives.”
On the physical level of the team
“We are the team that is physically the best in La Liga, we are the team that runs the most, the players feel good, they compete… It shows in the statistics. The team gives everything on the pitch and that’s the most important thing, we can be proud of.”
On the state of the locker room
“We are going to try not to let ourselves be affected, to change the context, to think that in La Liga we are very well placed, we are in a very good dynamic. We have to win, it’s a difficult field, a lot of teams there lost… We’re aiming for the three points.”
About Lewandowski
“I haven’t spoken to any player in particular. Lewandowski is back in great shape. The players are also frustrated with the elimination. Robert already knows it’s a medium to long term project, he knows where he stands. is, he knows we competed and we could win.”
On the Madrid derby
“It’s not up to us, but of course a defeat for Real would help us. Obviously we’ll be watching, but we have to focus on our job.”
On the confrontation against Real in the King’s Cup
“It has nothing to do with Europe, it’s a Cup classic. It’s an important game, but it’s a double tie and the return to Camp Nou, which will be even more important.”
On reviews
“If we had passed, you would have said that Barça are back in Europe, and that would not have been the case either. It’s your job, you are more sensationalists. We don’t want to think about it anymore, we focuses on national competitions.”
About Ferran Torres
“I think he clicked. The game against Cadiz was very good, one of the best he’s played at Barca. The other day it went very well and it will be important, yes. He needed that confidence.”
On Lewandowski’s absence from the game
“We have to look for him more in the box, he participates a lot in the team’s attacking game, he comes to offload and we have to look for him more. It costs us. But he’s the first to score.”
On Garnacho’s provocation against Pedri
“It’s hard to answer. I think when the player is in that moment of joy a lot of things come out. But I think there’s a lack of empathy, you’re very happy but you have to respect the rival and the opposing supporters. You can celebrate it with your loved ones but without provocation. But hey, everyone celebrates as they want.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login