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Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has already identified why his team have struggled in the Champions League this season, with the Catalans on the brink of a group-stage exit for the second straight season.
Xavi’s side will be unable to qualify for the last 16 if Inter beat Viktoria Plzen next time out, and the coach has put his finger on three key reasons for his team’s inability to make it out of Group C, as reported by Conrad Valley at Diario AS.
The Barca boss told president Joan Laporta that his team have struggled in Europe because of “injuries, lousy refereeing and lack of leadership.” Xavi also made it clear his team would be “going all out for” the league title for the rest of the season.
Injuries have certainly played a part in Barca’s struggles. The Catalans have been hit particularly hard in defense with Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Hector Bellerin, and Andreas Christensen all forced on to the sidelines.
The injuries meant that Gerard Pique, who started the season as the team’s fifth choice center-back, was named in the starting XI in the costly 3-3 draw against Inter. However, the defender was guilty of a poor error that allowed the visitors to equalize.
Captain Sergio Busquets was also at fault during the game. The midfielder lost the ball in the build-up to Inter’s second goal of the night. The duo’s failures may be why Xavi is pointing to a lack of leadership as a problem for Barcelona.
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Laporta Backs Xavi
Laporta has given his full backing to Xavi in the wake of the club’s European disappointment. The president told Barca TV that the club still have complete confidence in their manager, as reported by Sport.
“There is complete confidence in Xavi. He is a great coach and I am sure things will get better and he will bring us a lot of success in the future,” he said. “He knows the club perfectly, he knows our way of playing and is ideal for Barça. He has our support and he knows it. It is important that he knows there is confidence for things to go well.”
Barca are in a good shape in La Liga, top of the table and unbeaten after eight games, and can go three points clear of defending champions Real Madrid with a win at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, October 16.
Xavi ‘Hurting’ From Inter Draw
Laporta also revealed that Xavi is hurting from his team’s draw against Inter but believes the manager’s positive mentality will bring a swift response.
“I went down to his office as I do normally. He was sad and hurting, like all Barça fans. But Xavi has a quality whereby he always knows how to see the positives in any difficult situation,” he added. “I like that and I know he will take the team forward because he is doing a great job. We were all excited about the Champions League, but there are other competitions like LaLiga that we can win.”
Xavi remains in a strong position as Barcelona boss but will come under more pressure if his team are beaten in El Clasico. Real Madrid are also yet to lose in La Liga this season and qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League in midweek.
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