BARCELONA, 23 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of FC Barcelona, league title, although he acknowledged that it is still difficult to revalidate last year's domestic success.
“We talked too much at the press conference and it is time to act. The team has had a very good reaction and now is the time to not fail in any game if we want to win the 'Champions' and LaLiga. Tomorrow is another final, with 3 very important points to continue in the race,” he said at a press conference.
For this reason, he believes that it is a “very important” match against a Getafe team that is “very well trained and prepared” by José Bordalás. “They always have aggressive players, the word aggressive is well understood. For me it is not a defensive team, it is a brave team that pushes forward and with an advanced defensive line. They have scored points in the Metropolitano, they get performance from their players and they are a difficult opponent but “They are three very important points in the fight towards the League title,” he reiterated.
“I can say about Bordalás' teams that I like their intensity and aggressiveness and that they compete very well. He gets extraordinary performance from his teams. Just because they are aggressive does not mean that they are defensive. We will have to be very well organized in defense because they play very vertical and direct. For me it is to be praised what Bordalás is doing,” he added.
Furthermore, Xavi assured that they will not give up, especially after cutting points from Real Madrid and Girona in the previous matchday. “In LaLiga, as long as we can mathematically, we will fight. We take three points from Girona and two from Real Madrid. Every week is a different story, what we cannot do is fail ourselves and even less at home. We do not throw in the towel to win LaLiga but we know that it is complicated,” he acknowledged.
“Winning would give us more peace of mind and a week to rest. It would be very good for us to win, of course, to try to climb positions. In case of victory we would sleep second and in some way you put more pressure on Girona and Madrid. But we have to do our job , which is winning the 3 points in a very difficult match against Getafe,” said the Terrassa coach.
Regarding Robert Lewandowski and his recent improvement in front of goal, he assured that it is a team thing. “Robert's performance is a consequence of the team's improvement, which is why he has more scoring chances and is better positioned. We attack and defend in a more orderly manner. Robert has been more effective and it is the result of us being better and more intense,” he noted.
Of course, they have barely had a rest after playing on Wednesday against Naples (1-1, with a goal from the Pole) in the Champions League. “We will see how we all get there. Today we have done recovery, video and more tactical training. We hardly have time to rest. It is time for the best to play, we will make some changes but not many. We want to win this game, which is very important and transcendent for the remainder of the season,” he appealed.
“It would have been much better to put the game on Sunday or Monday but we have had this schedule and it is no excuse. We will compete and try to get the 3 points,” said Xavi regarding the schedule.
On the other hand, when asked about his replacement on the 'culer' bench, he assured that it would be better to give continuity to the 'Barça DNA'. “For me, the new coach should have continuity in the Barcelona DNA that we all have within us. But I can't name names, obviously,” he added.