In bad weather, two messages. On the one hand, Xavi Hernández is convinced that his footballers will react at the Bernabeu after two consecutive defeats, in Manchester and in Almería. The Barcelona coach believes that before the first leg of the Cup semifinals, Barça will take a step forward, despite the losses of Lewandowski, Dembélé and Pedri. On the other, he made it clear that, in his opinion, Madrid is the favourite, a label that he repeated over and over again.
“Madrid is the favorite as League and Champions League champions, regardless of the Super Cup we won and our casualties. They arrive at a good time and we are a team under construction”, Xavi insisted during the almost half hour of the press conference.
It was a way of taking the pressure off a bit, but that doesn't mean that Barça will be exhausted from the game, far from it. On the contrary. The coach asks his footballers to be brave. “It is a golden opportunity to react. We have to have a lot of personality. As the day of the Super Cup is a game model match, we want to impose our football, dominate and control the match minimizing losses”. Although he considers that the semifinal will be resolved at the Camp Nou Xavi does not sign, from the outset, a draw. "Our style of play is to go out and win."
Given the absences of weight, the coach trusts that his squad will close ranks. “We have to be more of a team than ever, both in defense and in attack, as well as in strategic actions. We have to be very attentive to details”, analyzed Xavi.
At all times the Blaugrana coach wanted to string together a speech of optimism and motivation. “As a culé I love going to the Bernabeu. It motivates me more than other games, it makes me want to play there, that's the truth”.
In this sense, he recalled that, despite the two consecutive defeats, Barcelona is in a privileged situation. “We have the opportunity to win the League and the Cup. If we compare it with last season I am euphoric, now we are at a remarkable high and the year before it was almost insufficient. We have won a title, we have grown, we have shown our faces in all the games, the team continues to grow. The balance is positive, ”he recalled.
In this chapter he has tried to convey to his footballers that they avoid the pessimism of the environment and act with conviction. "Oh, oh, oh, and doubts can only bring us negative things."
To face the duel in Madrid, Xavi recovers Ansu Fati, who has entered the squad after overcoming the blow to the knee that prevented him from traveling to Almería. The other novelty on the list is that of the subsidiary striker Estanis Pedrola, who played with the first team on January 2, 2022, in Mallorca. "Ansu feels good, he was only hit, he is very happy and very motivated, he must be important for tomorrow". In the same way he gave the ears of Ferran Torres. "I have blind faith in him," he said.
The match will arrive hours after the arbitration team offers a press conference to analyze the Negreira case, a coincidence in time that does not particularly worry Xavi. “I just want to repeat that I have never had the feeling that the referees have helped us. I don't like to win by cheating. That the referee at the Bernabeu be neutral and fair”.
