Xavi warns Barca players of one thing in El Clásico: “Real Madrid will destroy us if you did it”
Barcelona achieved its third consecutive victory in the Champions League yesterday evening, Wednesday, after defeating Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine 2-1 in the third round of the group stage.
The Catalan team leads its group with a full score of 9 points from three matches, but despite this, Xavi expressed his annoyance with the performance of his players in the second half, in which Barcelona clearly suffered.
“We have to be more mature than ever,” Xavi said in the post-match press conference. Everyone thought we had won the match. “This caused us to lack effectiveness.”
He added: “We could have won 4-1 or 5-1. “We just played the best physical game of the season against Athletic Bilbao and we put the same players in today’s match against Shakhtar.”
Regarding the possibility of Fermin Lopez entering the El Clásico squad after his wonderful performance against Shakhtar, Xavi replied: “I am pleased with him. If he believes in himself, he could stay at Barcelona for many years. “He is dynamic, he is a good shooter, he plays with both legs, he has the finishing touch.”
Regarding Joao Felix’s injury, Xavi said: “It is not worrying, just a blow to the hip.”
Regarding El Clásico and the most important thing to do, Xavi said: “The most important thing is to control the ball. One loss of the ball means Real Madrid can destroy you.”