Xavi: "We have reacted as a family”

Barça's reaction after its black week came before the initial whistle.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
20 October 2022 Thursday 16:32
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Xavi: "We have reacted as a family”

Barça's reaction after its black week came before the initial whistle. Xavi decreed up to five changes in his starting eleven. “They have not been to point out, on Sunday (against Athletic) there will also be changes, we need fresh people”, ruled out the Barça coach. But the footballers who were most marked after the painful defeat in the classic began on the bench. Sometimes words are useless.

Xavi was finally a happy coach, almost relieved, after thrashing Emery's always rocky Villarreal. “It was a difficult day and we showed our faces. We had to react and we have done it as a family, as a group, I am especially happy for the players. They are a family and they make an extraordinary effort.”

Nobody escapes that the defeat at the Bernabeu opened many wounds at Barça. One of the deepest lies in the midfield, a position in which the eternal Busquets once again left many doubts. Badia's bad game has encouraged the appearance of lists of possible substitutes, fueled by the door that Xavi opened to make signings in winter. But against Villarreal, he gave the feeling that the heir may be at home. “I don't care where I play, I feel comfortable when I'm involved in the game and touch the ball a lot. And today I played it a lot”, said a skillful De Jong smiling, avoiding delving into Busquets' wound. He would have had arguments for the entire Dutchman, whose deployment as a Barça brain against Emery's team was a real show. His coach also congratulated him: “I have the feeling that he enjoyed it a lot, he understood the game very well, dividing when he played and his teammates understood when he was the free man. I'm happy for him, he deserves it." After emptying himself both in defense and attack, a unique generator of plays with his ability to break lines, De Jong ended up exhausted and asking for a change. "I'm a little tired and I had the calf loaded, but I'm fine," he lowered.

The small negative edge of the duel was Piqué's whistles. "It's time for Barcelona to be united and the only thing I can say about Piqué is that he is an example in capital letters as a captain, whether he plays or not he doesn't pout and he trains one hundred percent, people should know that", Xavi sentenced.