Getty Xavi celebrates Barcelona's win over Atletico.
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez was full of praise for new signing Adama Traore after the team’s 4-2 La Liga win over Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou on Sunday, February 6.
Adama is back at Barcelona on loan for the rest of the season from Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers and put in an impressive showing in the victory over the defending champions.
Xavi spoke to reporters after the win, that takes his team into fourth place in the table for the first time since September, and was full of praise for the 26-year-old winger, as reported by Marca.
“Adama is a very mature player. He knows when to face, when to pass, he has chosen his moments well, physically he is a monster, a beast,” he said. “He is a pure winger and he will help us. He is a great signing.”
The winger played 61 minutes at the Camp Nou and picked up an assist in the win. Barcelona took all three points thanks to goals from Jordi Alba, Gavi, Ronald Araujo, and Dani Alves.
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Adama Impresses For Barca
There’s no doubt it was an impressive performance from Adama. The winger was involved in Barca’s first goal with a strong run which led to Alves crossing for Alba to smash home a brilliant volley.
The forward then teed up Gavi to head home Barcelona’s second goal of the afternoon to put the hosts in front for the first time. Surprisingly, it’s actually Adama’s first assist of the season.
Adama Traore provided zero assists in 29 appearances for Wolves…
He assisted on his Barcelona debut after 21 minutes 😅
Adama’s speed and willingness to run at defenders caused Atletico all sorts of problems, particularly in the first half. Atletico boss Diego Simeone was forced to move Yannick Carrasco onto the left to help deal with the threat posed by the Barca new-boy.
Xavi Tells Fans to Stop Whistling Dembele
Xavi also urged fans to stop whistling Ousmane Dembele after the game. The Frenchman was back in the squad but did not make it off the bench against Atletico. However, his name was whistled by fans when the teams were read out before kick-off.
The Barcelona boss says he wants supporters to stop jeering the 24-year-old, who has refused the offer of a new contract at Barcelona, and instead wants to see support for the forward for the rest of the season.
“I would like to ask people to stop whistling for Dembélé,” he said. “That’s it, they whistled for him today and from now on I’m asking for support.”
Xavi also offered his thoughts on the match and made it clear he was very happy with his team’s performance up until Alves was shown a red card for a poor challenge on Carrasco.
“Before Alves was sent off, the game was perfect. We had to go back a bit. The first 60 minutes represent the Barça that we all love,” he explaxined. “When we have been with 11 we have been very good. We had worked the 3-4-3 and the 3-5-2. We have shown solidarity after the expulsion, we have defended the area well and we have not suffered too much.”
The three points are a big boost for Barcelona ahead of gruelling schedule of fixtures for the Catalans in February. Next up for Xavi and his men is a local derby at Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday, February 13.
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