"We depend on ourselves to secure second place"

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez assured that the 'Cules' face Monday's La Liga game against Real Sociedad as "a new opportunity" to finish in second place in LaLiga EA Sports, the "minimum objective" that the club have set for themselves.

"We are depending on ourselves to achieve second place after Girona's draw. We have a great opportunity again, against an opponent of an extraordinary level," said the Catalan coach on Sunday, who considered that the rival coach, Imanol Alguacil, "has been doing a fantastic job for years".

Xavi labelled Real Sociedad as a "tough opponent", who are "aggressive in defence" and "generate a lot of things in attack", from whom he expects a "brave" approach.

"I don't know what Real are going to find because they do everything very well: they defend in a low block, but they also press very well up front, they win duels, they are strong in direct play and they don't allow transitions", he analysed.

The Egara coach said that the fact that Barcelona are not in the race for any title "doesn't change anything" in the preparation for the games, as the team is "focused" and has "trained well" to achieve the "minimum objective" which would mean finishing in second place and playing in the Spanish Super Cup next season.

 

May 12, 2024

Xavi admitted that not achieving second place would mean "taking a step backwards" and stressed that "finishing the season with a good feeling is always important for the following season", although he remarked that the planning for next season does not depend on this final result and has already been "agreed with Deco".

The Barcelona coach avoided taking a position when asked about the transfer market, but he did explain that the club's plan is to have all the positions strengthened next season. "Competitiveness among the players is key," he added.

Finally, Xavi announced that Pedri is "100% ready" for Monday's game, and was self-critical when he said that the coaching staff made a mistake by playing "many games without a natural defensive midfielder".

"When we have chosen Romeu or Christensen, they have given us balance and we have competed better. When we get together as a staff and ask ourselves where we have failed, what we have done wrong; I think this is it. The lack of dominance in midfield and stopping transitions really affected us. We have not been able to compete as we would have liked to", he added.