FC Barcelona got three important points in their last La Liga game against Celta Vigo, which will let the Blaugranes still retain some faint hopes of remaining in contention for the league title.
Robert Lewandowski got the team ahead right before the half-time whistle, but the team started the second half poorly, as they allowed their old nemesis, Iago Aspas, to score the equalizer a few minutes after the game was restarted. The Catalans were ultimately able to win the match with a last-minute penalty.
While it got the team the full three points, this match was far from satisfactory for Barcelona. This was made clear by Pedri Gonzalez, who spoke to the media after the full-time whistle. As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the midfielder criticized the team’s performance in the second half:
“We need to self-criticize. It wasn’t a good game for us. In the second half, we came out asleep. We have to improve a lot in that aspect because the truth is that it’s happening to us in many games, and we have to get better. I think we need to move the ball much faster. When we do that, we create more space and score more goals.”
Pedri also provided his insights on one of the weaknesses he had identified when playing on the pitch:
“From my position, what I perceive is that we lack much more speed with the ball. Ultimately, for defenders, it’s much easier to defend against us if we move very slowly.”
“They wait for us in a medium and low block very calmly, and they don’t have to make much effort to defend against us. It’s one of the things we need to improve the most.”
Barcelona have a very important match coming up ahead in the Champions League, and despite the team’s mediocre form, Pedri was confident the Catalans will be able to get over this match:
“We had a talk among ourselves to try to improve and change things. I have a lot of confidence in this squad, I believe we have players up front who can make the difference, and at the back, we have people who cover our backs well.”
“If we are a unit and do what we have to do, we can aim for everything. We are very eager for Wednesday’s match, we will go all out for Naples.”
Pedri again reiterated the team’s ability to win the upcoming matches, but recognized that the team has not been playing well recently:
“As I’ve already said, we are very eager and very excited. It’s true that things haven’t been going well for us in other competitions, especially in the league.”
“We are making too many mistakes, but we are going all out for the Champions League. Today wasn’t the best match for the team, but in the end, we got the three points.”
