Although it was his brother Óscar who directed the match from the bench due to his accumulation of yellow cards and subsequent sanction, it was Xavi Hernández who came out before the media to evaluate Barça's victory against Mallorca, with the visit of Naples on Tuesday in Champions in everyone's minds.
Starting at the end, the Barça coach lowered the level of alarm over possible injuries to Raphinha, who had to be substituted in the first half, and, above all, to Lamine Yamal after an ugly tackle by Raíllo. "Today there were no injuries, they were just blows," the man from Egara concluded.
Xavi defended Joao Félix, again very gray and replaced early between some whistles from the stands. "It was a very difficult game for the forwards, Mallorca's five at the back make it difficult for you to generate things," he explained.
The Terrassa coach also highlighted the moral aspect of the victory against Mallorca, thinking about the European visit of Naples. "The victory gives us a lot of morale and a lot of confidence, it seems like it is not important but it is and a lot to face the game on Tuesday. It really is more important than it seems," he remarked.
Regarding the two big names from the victory against Mallorca, the scorer Lamine Yamal and the thriving Cubarís, hierarchical at 17 years old. It's amazing how he divides and how he wins duels, it doesn't seem like he's as old as he really is. We're looking at two players who can mark an era for the club."
Before Xavi left the press room, Javier Aguirre had compared Lamine Yamal to Leo Messi. The Barça coach tried to reduce this euphoria: "These comparisons do not benefit him. It is true that since he is a closed left-footer it gives the impression that we have flashes of Messi, but that comparison is good because he is the best player in history and all those who "If they compare themselves to him, they lose."
