Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez explained several reasons that must be improved in his team in order to return to his well-known level, saying that in addition to the goal sterility, the quality of the performance of Barca players must be raised in the final and penultimate touches.
Barcelona scored 22 goals in the last 18 games, a number that is not comparable to the usual “Blaugrana” numbers, especially after the goalless draw against Benfica in the fifth round of the Champions League.
Xavi said in a press conference on the eve of facing Villarreal in the 15th round of the Spanish League, saying: “In attack we must be more daring, but the players are still young and at this age I also suffered like them, the ability to score is present, I see that in training.”
Then he added: “I am happy with other aspects of the team. On the defensive side, we are good, in vertical play and good pressure when losing the ball. We have not conceded any goals so far, although we suffered a little.”
Xavi Hernandez hinted at the possibility of using the duo “Osman Dembele” and “Ansu Fati” against the yellow submarines, after their recent return from injury.
The young coach said: “Physically Osman is in good condition, but we have to be careful. We will decide tomorrow how far his condition will develop, but he must be well maintained.”
He continued, “As for Ansu Fati, he is recovering very well, he has started to run, but we must take into account that he is coming from a long injury, we will see if we will risk him as we did with Dembele, who made a great effort to be with the team.”