Xavi spoke about the game against Bayern, the qualification scenario, Christensen’s availability, Kounde’s role, trusting Busquets, options for the left-back spot, team’s motivation level, and the role of Ansu Fati in his pre-match press conference.
Xavi on the game against Bayern:
“We have to continue like that and show that we can compete against clubs like Bayern. It’s an important match for us, despite the result in Milan. We have to win tomorrow, show our level and take advantage of the opportunities.”
Xavi on the mentality of his players:
“We need to keep the same mentality, we have to react in the same way, we must not change the feelings even if we pass to the next round, no matter what happens in Milan, we have to win tomorrow.”
Xavi on Barca’s chances of qualification:
“We have a little bit of hope, but it’s very difficult. It is a very uncomfortable situation. In football, sometimes the one who deserves it doesn’t win. We have to show tomorrow that we are at the level of these clubs.”
Xavi on Kounde:
“Koundé is very fast, aggressive, and focused. He’s a perfect defender as I said before, he’s very mature for his age, and I’m very happy for him.”
Xavi on Barca’s morale after losing El Clasico:
“We must not lose our mental focus, after losing the Clasico, it looked like a disaster, and we recovered the feelings by winning against Villarreal and Bilbao and with a good performance.“
Xavi on Mourinho’s UEL statements:
“Mourinho’s statement? I will not say anything to Mourinho, if we have to play in the Europa League we will try to compete to win it.”
Xavi on Christensen’s availability:
“Christensen? He’s not ready yet, we’ll try to get him ready for next week, he’s fine and doing a great job.”
Xavi on the Left back options:
“Everyone is ready to play in any game, Marcos is adapting very well, and Balde is in a great moment. I am happy with him and also with Alba, who plays in this position and competes well with them, and this is good for us.”
Xavi on Kessie’s role against Bayern:
“Will Kessié play? You will see tomorrow, he is an important player who entered very well in the last game, he is good and gave depth to the team and wins 1v1. He is an important player for the team.”
Xavi on Lewandowski scoring against Bayern:
“Tomorrow is a match for revenge and also for Lewandowski, who did not score against his former team after several chances. We will try again tomorrow.”
Xavi on describing Lewandowski in three words:
“3 words for Lewandowski? A winner, incredible quality, and a great scorer.”
Xavi on trusting Busquets:
“We are here to win matches and trophies, I trust Busquets and Frenkie, and I will use both players depending on how the matches go. For me, Busquets is still very important to us.”
Xavi on Ansu’s role:
“When he played, he was good. He was good against Bilbao, he made a fantastic effort against Villarreal and also scored a goal, which is very good.”
Xavi on losing Sergi Roberto to injury:
“Roberto’s loss is delicate, he is in a good moment, and I am very confident in his abilities, in principle, Bellerin is ready for this position at right back, and we also have other options.”
That concluded Xavi’s pre-match press conference ahead of Barca’s clash against Bayern.
