FC Barcelona are set to play one of the most important games of this season as they take on Paris Saint Germain in their upcoming match in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, the first leg of which is scheduled to be played in Paris.
The Catalans qualified for this stage of the tournament with their victory over Napoli in the Round of 16, and after having qualified to the knock-out stages of the competition after a gap of two years.
Thus, the Blaugranes will be particularly pumped up for this match and will be looking to get a favorable result ahead of the second leg to be played at the Montjuic.
There was some good news for Xavi, as all Christensen, Pedri, and Frenkie de Jong traveled with the squad to Paris. Thus, the midfield has received a significant boost, although it is highly unlikely that all of these three players will be a part of the starting XI.
Thus, several questions remain on what team Xavi will field for this crucial match, and some indications on this aspect were provided by the Barcelona head coach himself as he talked to the press.
The main highlights from this presser are as follows:
Xavi started the presser with comments on how this tie is particularly important for Barcelona:
“Yes, it’s a crucial moment. The word after being out of the quarterfinals for four years is excitement; there was a lot of excitement generated. We could dream. We thought we were arriving at the best moment of the season, but in front of us, we have one of the best teams in Europe, with one of the best coaches in Luis Enrique.”
While praising his former coach, Luis Enrique, Xavi was clear that Barcelona still will have an advantage while responding to the PSG coach’s prior comments where he claimed that he was very well acquainted with the Barcelona style of play:
“I’ve seen it; Luis Enrique is indeed there. I know him very well, I have a great relationship with him. He has a team built to win the Champions League; we are facing a very difficult opponent, and both of us seek a similar style.”
“We can boast about the Barça DNA, whether it’s Luis Enrique, Pep, or Arteta. Tomorrow we’ll look for the same thing, from here on it’s the players’ job to find the DNA that identifies us so much.”
“Both Arteta, Pep, and I have been shaped by this DNA. We’re talking about a new generation of coaches who are midfielders, and I think the Barça philosophy is key. I believe it’s an advantage.”
Although Mbappe will be the biggest threat for Barcelona in this tie, Xavi made it clear that he was wary of all the stars in the PSG team:
“Indeed, Mbappé, Dembélé, Kolo Muani, Vitinha… and the entire squad. We have to consider the surveillance, we need to be very sharp in this aspect.”
Pedri and Frenkie de Jong were able to return to the squad for this match, and Xavi told the reporters that all the players in the squad will be available to play tomorrow:
“Positive that everyone who has traveled will be available tomorrow. I imagine that 100% of those who have traveled will be able to play, barring any surprises.”
“Above all, we will look at the physical sensations, and then we will decide. Tomorrow we will talk, and above all, the fitness levels will be crucial in the lineup.”
The Barcelona trainer admitted that the PSG team will come with full intensity in this match, but was still confident that he and his team has prepared well to face their threat:
“I won’t give away any clues, but it will be important. They will engage us in individual duels; Luis Enrique’s teams are perhaps the most intense in the world. The demands are maximum; we’ll have to handle this pressure very well. I believe we’ve prepared for it well.”
“I think tomorrow there won’t be much variation, we visualize a lot of individual duels. Maybe in this match, we value more how the players are physically, and tomorrow is a match to be at 100%. We won’t be able to barely think, they’ll press us for 90 minutes.”
Xavi also recalled his last season at Barcelona, which ended with maximum success for the Catalans with Luis Enrique at the helm:
“It was a tough year at the beginning, but then everything straightened out in an incredible way. Also, knowing it was my last year, I hoped it would end well, and it ended like a movie, with a treble and lifting the Champions League as captain. With Luis, an incredible relationship; I think I helped him a lot as captain in difficult times. I remember it with pride.”
Ousmane Dembele is a player whose memory is still fresh in Culers’ minds, as he left Barcelona for PSG only in the last summer transfer window. Xavi shared how he communicated with him after the draw, and believed he could be a decisive player for the Parisians:
“We exchanged messages after the draw and said we would see each other in Paris. I hold him in high esteem; he decided unilaterally to come here; it was a challenge for him, and that’s why I think they are favorites. They took away a great player from us in the summer.”
Xavi was not too keen to make any predictions for the match, and confessed that Luis Enrique can be full of surprises:
“I don’t know, it’s football. It’s unpredictable, but we will try to control the variations. Luis Enrique has a wide range; he has many possibilities and works very well because I know him very well. It will be a face-to-face match.”
This will be the first time that Xavi leads his team into a Champions League quarter-finals, but the Spaniard was confident as his team is going through a good run of form:
“I think it’s a challenge, it’s a responsibility, and I’ve seen a lot of enthusiasm from the Barcelona fans. Maybe we arrive at the best moment of the season and the players are super motivated. In front of us, we have a great team, it’s a challenge, for me as a coach and for the players, who are the ones who must carry it forward.”
“I approach it with motivation and as a great challenge, but not as something personal. I look out for the club, for the players. I want Barcelona to be in the semifinal, not for Xavi to be there. This is about thinking of the collective, not about ego.”
Xavi identified PSG as the favourites for this tie, and clarified that he is not doing this under any pre-thought strategy, but because that was the truth:
“It’s not a strategy, I genuinely believe it. I think they are the favorites, they took Dembélé from us, and they have spent much more than us. It’s a team built to win the Champions League, I know them well, they are from Qatar and it’s their main objective. It’s not a strategy, if this frees up the players, great, but I truly believe it.”
The Barcelona head-coach shared that he did not like man-marking players, even if the opposition had players as good as Mbappe: “I don’t like it. Another thing is to provide coverage, and numerical superiority… But I don’t like it.”
The former midfielder acknowledged that results would be what actually matters at the end of the match: “Yes, of course, this is about results. We will be highly evaluated based on the outcome. We are entering a crucial stage, facing 2-3 very decisive weeks. Yes.”
Xavi highlighted that the veterans will have to play a key role as Barcelona continues on this Champions League journey:
“They are very motivated. We have an exemplary dressing room, they train as they want to win… most of them already know how to win the Champions League, they know the way.”
There have been threats of terrorism facing the Champions League matches, but Xavi was hopeful no acts of violence will take place tomorrow night:
“Let’s hope nothing happens. That people can come to the match tomorrow calmly to watch the Champions League, that the spectacle is inside and not outside. Total respect between the two sets of fans.”
Source: Mundo Deportivo
