Getty Xavi wanted Christensen at Barcelona.
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez revealed he had to calm down a furious Raphinha at half-time of Sunday’s 1-0 win over Celta Vigo at the Camp Nou in La Liga.
The Brazilian was left raging after being denied a penalty following a clash with Javi Galan. Xavi told reporters after the match that Raphinha was adamant he should have been awarded a spot-kick, as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
“Raphinha has told me that it was a very clear penalty, he was very upset at the break and we had to calm him down, but today he is not a referee,” he said. “We are not in the best moment like before the [international] break and we have to improve, three weeks ago we were flying and not now, but It’s hard for everyone to win because everything is very even.”
Barcelona did win the game thanks to Pedri’s first-half goal. However, Celta did have chances to grab an equalizer. Goncalo Paciencia hit the post and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made an important late stop from Iago Aspas.
The victory keeps Barcelona top of the table in Spain ahead of their next La Liga clash against rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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Raphinha Talks Penalty Incident
Raphinha was happy to talk about the incident after the match and why he was so convinced he should have been given a penalty, as reported by Diario Sport.
“I had the sensation that he touched me and I could not carry on, that’s why I went to ground,” he said. “I like to score and if I wasn’t touched I could have continued. For the referee it was nothing, and I had to keep playing.”
The incident follows on from a couple of controversial refereeing decisions in Barcelona’s Champions League defeat to Inter las time out. Barca saw a goal ruled out for handball and were then denied a penalty for a similar offence.
Barca Face Must-Win Clash
Barcelona now face Inter again in the Champions League in a must-win clash for the Catalan giants at the Camp Nou. Xavi’s side are currently third in the group and know qualification for the knockout stages will be all but impossible if they can’t take three points off the Nerazzurri.
Xavi has warned his team they must improve if they are to keep their Champions League hopes alive, as reported by Sport.
“If we play like we played in the second half today, it will be difficult to beat Inter,” he said “We have to improve, we have to be self-critical. The first half is good, the intensity was good, we created a lot of chances and have to kill the game off. If we get the second, it all changes. We were not good in the second half. We let Celta press. Maybe it was tiredness, fatigue. Psychologically we dipped and they had two or three clear chances on the counter.”
Inter will head to the Camp Nou knowing that just a draw will put them in a good position to qualify. The Serie A side head into the match after a 2-1 win over Sassuolo at the weekend.
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