Luis Enrique does not comment on Xavi's farewell

By the time PSG drew with Stade Brestois this weekend in Ligue 1, Luis Enrique already knew that Xavi Hernandez had announced his decision to leave Barcelona at the end of the season. So it was brought up at the press conference following their disappointing result at the Parc des Princes. He was much more eager to talk about his side's performance than about what is happening at Montjuic.

Asked directly about Xavi's dismissal and the possibility of him returning to coach Barca in the future, he replied: "I have nothing to say on this subject. Nor did he well too much on the substitutions of Ousmane Dembele and Marquinhos: "They were substitutes by choice of the coach". He did offer a bit more analysis on Marco Asensio: "I'd say a superb first half, like the whole team, and a second half in which we were all bad".

"I think there are two very different parts. The first part was very good, with very good control in all defensive situations. We practically annulled Brest. I would say it was a great first half, one of the best of the season. The same thing happened again as in the first leg. A team like Brest, who we know have the ability to have the ball, did the same as in the first leg. We could have even lost the game. The second half was very bad. Brest lost very little. We thought the game was done and it turned out not to be".

Insisted on his team's relaxed attitude after leading 2-0, he replied: "As a coach, you know it can happen. That's the message at half-time. It's already happened to us once. We lost control of the game in the second half. They generated a lot of chances, Donnarumma had a few chances... If we don't control the game, we start to suffer. If our opponents have more of the ball than us, we start to suffer. The aim is to play the same way the whole game. I don't ask my team to relax. On the contrary, more aggressiveness. Our opponents were much better than us. It's a very simple analysis".

 

January 29, 2024