The Catalan fans are living in a state of melancholy, after the exciting football performances presented by the Blaugrana battalion, since the arrival of Spanish coach Xavi Hernandez to train Barcelona.
Xavi was appointed coach of the Barca team in late October, after the dismissal of Dutch coach Ronaldo Koeman due to poor results.
Xavi’s team achieved a difficult victory over its host Elche, 2-1, in the start of the 27th round of the Spanish League.
After this victory, the Berlin Wall German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen released press statements published by the Catalan newspaper “Sport”, after the match, during which he confirmed: The words of Xavi Hernandez, the coach, had the magic effect in the victory over Elche.
And the giant goalkeeper continued, “I did not undergo many tests in today’s match. We played a good match despite its difficulty, and we defended our goal, but I am very happy with the three points.”
“They tried to get a chance or two to win the match, but in the end I have to stay fully focused and wait for all the balls to reach me.”
He continued, “Xavi told us that we had to enter the second half with more force, and then we controlled the match in the second half, and scored 3 decisive points.”
Regarding Elche’s claim for a penalty, he said: “I didn’t watch the replay, but I think Alba was turning around unintentionally.”
He concluded his statements: “The referee’s decision was good, we cannot lift our shoulders from our bodies, the referee was right.”
After this victory, Barcelona reached third place in the La Liga standings, with 48 points, while Elche’s balance froze at 29 points in the fourteenth place.