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Barcelona will look to close the gap on La Liga’s top two teams when they face Getafe at home on Saturday.
Xavi’s men have struggled to defeat Getafe of late, winning just one of their previous four matches, with the last two ending in goalless draws.
He blaugranaComing off a 1-1 draw against Napoli in the UEFA Champions League, they will be eager to make things clear against Getafe and bounce back to win.
Xavi talks about Getafe
On the eve of the match, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández spoke to the media in his press conference and explained why Getafe is such a difficult team to beat.
“Tomorrow is a very important match against Getafe, it is very well coached by Bordalás. It is not a defensive team, for me it is a brave team with a very high defensive line. “They have gotten points in the Metropolitano and they always compete,” Xavi said.
“It is a complicated opponent, but they are three very important points for the fight for the League title.”
Asked about the aggressive style of José Bordalás’ team and the role that the referees will have in tomorrow’s match, Xavi said:
“I’m not talking about referees anymore. I like Bordalás’ aggressiveness and he is getting a lot out of his teams. They put very high pressure on you and we will have to do things very well to get out of the pressure. “They are having good performances and that is worthy of praise.”
Regarding whether he expects a defensive Getafe tomorrow, he said: “Getafe takes advantage of any set-piece situation and transitions, but I don’t think they are going to close behind. They are going to have a high defensive line. “I don’t see a defensive Getafe.”
On how he plans to deal with the threat of in-form Mason Greenwood, Xavi said: “We won’t do anything special. He is a player we have to keep an eye on. Getafe has very good players. Milla, Mayoral is scoring goals and Greenwood is making the difference.”
About the squad and the players
Next, the Barça coach spoke about Robert Lewandowski’s recent improvement, stating that it was the result of a collective improvement by the entire team.
“Robert is a consequence of the team’s improvement. He is better positioned and we attack and defend in a more organized way. He may be being more effective, but that is because we are better positioned.” he commented.
There had been talk that Xavi would rotate his troops ahead of the game against Getafe, but the coach insisted that he plans to field his best XI and said:
“We’ll see how we all get there. We hardly have time to rest and it’s time for the best players to play. We won’t make many changes. “It is an important game for the rest of the league.”
Xavi then spoke about the status of injured striker Ferran Torres, but did not give an exact return date for the Spaniard, as he said: “We’ll see how he feels, but for now he’s fine. “I can’t give you an exact date.”
The 44-year-old also commented on the situation of Oriol Romeu, who is suffering from physical problems, and gave his two cents on the use of Andreas Christensen in the defensive midfielder position, saying:
“Oriol has been struggling lately. He is making a plan to be one hundred percent. Andreas is giving us balance defensively. “We have had more control and more dominance with Andreas in this position.”
Xavi also highlighted the importance of Ronald Araujo for the team, stating that he is the present and the future of Barça.
“For me there is no doubt. Araujo is the present and the future of Barça. He is already one of the captains and a leader in the locker room. He is a fundamental player for the future of the club.” he commented.
There was also praise reserved for Ilkay Gundogan, as Xavi said: “He can make a difference from the base of the area. He is making a difference, not just with the numbers. He is a fundamental player for us.”
Joao Cancelo also earned some praise from the manager, with Xavi saying: “He is playing very well and his contribution is fantastic. He is sometimes too high, but he is also closer to the goal. “I am happy with Joao’s performance.”
Barcelona has several players at risk of suspension due to accumulation of cards. But Xavi insisted that they can’t think about that and should only focus on playing, as he said:
“We try not to think about it. When they come out, they will come out. We can’t think about that. We have to compete in the best possible way and try not to accumulate more yellow cards. We have to win the three points, which would mean a lot to us.”
About the race for the La Liga title and its programming
On the team’s chances of getting back into the La Liga title race, Xavi said: “We will fight for La Liga until it is mathematically possible. We cannot fail at home. Tomorrow it is very important to try to come back, but we know it is complicated.”
“We have a week to rest until next Sunday. If we win we would be second and it would be good to put pressure on Girona and Madrid.” he added.
About having to play on a Saturday after playing the Champions League match on Wednesday, Xavi said: “It would be better for us to play on Sunday, but they have given us this schedule and there are no excuses.
“We have two and a half days to rest and tomorrow we will compete.”
The manager also explained why they couldn’t close the deal against Napoli in midweek, saying:
“On a physical level we are very good, perhaps it was a bit of a mental issue. We should have calmed down the game and Napoli dominated us during those ten minutes. “It wasn’t a physical problem.”
About his decision to leave and the future
Xavi announced last month that he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season. Players were expected to react positively to the announcement and show some improvement.
When asked if he had seen that reaction from his players, the coach said: “I think the decision is the right one. The team needs a change at the end of the season. I see it positively that the team has taken a step forward. “We are playing better football.”
Several senior managers such as Thomas Tuchel, Hansi Flick and Roberto De Zerbi have been linked as replacements for Xavi. When asked what he thought about who he should replace him, the 44-year-old responded:
“I don’t know. In the end it’s Deco and the president who have to decide. It should have Barça DNA.”
Regarding the criticism that he and his team have had to endure throughout the season, Xavi stated: “The team is ready to compete. We have little time to recover, but tomorrow we will compete as always. The players have taken a step forward with their performance.”
Fountain: Sports world