Xavi Hernández Sees El Clásico As the Most Crucial Match of the Season
The Barcelona coach, Xavi Hernandez, stated that Sunday's match at the Santiago Bernabéu against Real Madrid has become "the most important of the season," as the Blaugranas are required to win to keep their hopes alive for the only title left.
"Tomorrow we have the chance to get plugged into LaLiga," affirmed the Egarense coach, who admitted that Real Madrid will arrive at the encounter "mentally reinforced" after eliminating Manchester City in the Champions League, a team he defined as "the best in the world."
"We need to switch gears. I see the team well, with all the enthusiasm in the world to fight for this league. We have to use the anger, frustration, and helplessness from the other day to our advantage to dominate the match," Xavi said, referring to the recent elimination in the Champions League at the hands of PSG.
The Catalan coach acknowledged that Barcelona wasted "a very favorable situation" to reach the semifinals due to the mistakes made but expressed confidence that this experience will serve as a learning curve to compete better next year in the top European competition.
Xavi assured that "there is no problem" in the locker room due to Ilkay Gündogan's criticism after the defeat against PSG, emphasizing that the Santiago Bernabéu is "the perfect stage to show the team's personality" and stressed that they believe they can win at the leader's ground.
"Surely Real Madrid will press hard in the first minutes of each half. We'll have to be brave with the ball and not lose it, dominate, and calm the high pressure they'll exert," confessed the Spaniard.
On the other hand, Xavi highlighted Real Madrid's ability to defend and compete in adverse scenarios, as they did against Manchester City and also in the first-leg match against Barcelona, which Real Madrid won 1-2.
"The first half here was totally ours, and we only went 1-0 up at halftime. Tomorrow, apart from playing well, we have to be effective because Madrid is. Besides, they're one of the best teams in the world at running into space," he added, analyzing what happened in the first encounter between them in La Liga.
