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Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has revealed the biggest change he’s overseen at the club since taking over ahead of his team’s Champions League clash at Bayern Munich.
The Catalan giants were beaten 3-0 home and away by Bayern last season in Europe but head to the Allianz Arena with genuine optimism after an unbeaten start to the season.
Xavi spoke about his team’s improvements at a pre-match press conference and explained what he thinks is the biggest difference in his team since their last visit to the home of the Bundesliga champions.
“A lot of things but I think the mentality. That day we talked a lot after that [last] game and I said we are Barca and that here we needed to run and show our personality, our character and give it our all out on the pitch,” he told reporters. “I think the first 20 minutes went well, but yes our mentality has changed. You can lose a game, but we want to impose our style of play, because we are Barca. So I think we have changed in our personality and mentality. Of course the transfers have helped, and the wins that give us more confidence, but the mentality of the players has changed a lot.”
Barcelona have never won at Bayern Munich but head into the game in good form after sweeping aside Cadiz last time out in La Liga, while the Bavarians were held to a disappointing draw against Stuttgart.
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Xavi Talks Lewandowski Return
All eyes will be on Robert Lewandowski as he takes on his former team on Tuesday, September 13 following his summer move to the Camp Nou from Bayern. Xavi says the striker is looking forward to the game.
“We have Robert with us and he’s very important but we have other players too,” he explained. “Robert also applies the high press well, has a good understanding, his timing and speed gives us a lot, he understands how to find the free man. He understands the game very well. Not just Robert, also our wingers and midfielders. We have a lot of weapons in attack.”
Lewandowski has nine goals and two assists in just six matches for Barcelona since arriving from Bayern in the summer transfer window.
Raphinha Also a Threat?
The former Bayern man is not the only player that Xavi is expecting to cause Bayern problems in the match. The Barca boss also tipped fellow summer signing Raphinha to make a big impact.
“Yes for me he is an important player, he’s dynamic, he doesn’t just help us in attack, defensively he’s very intense, he understands how to apply the press,” he explained. “He’s a fantastic football player and I have a lot of confidence in him. Tomorrow he will be important for us no doubt.”
Raphinha did not feature in Barcelona’s previous Champions League game, a 5-1 win over Viktoria Plzen, but is expected to feature in attack alongside Lewandowski and Ousmane Dembele.
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