Andoni Zubizarreta says he heard ‘more applause than whistles’ aimed at Alexis Sanchez during Barcelona’s draw with Malaga on Wednesday.
The Chilean international struggled in front of goal during the Copa del Rey quarter-final first leg 2-2 draw between the teams in midweek, to the ire of sections of the Camp Nou support.
“It is good that the forwards are having the opportunities to score, as it happened with Alexis in this game,” enthused Zubizarreta afterwards, though.
“What is happening to him happened to Pedro too. And it will end. I heard more applause than whistles from the crowd.
“The quarter-final? It is even. This is the grace of the Cup. Malaga did not allow us to play it out. That is to our opponents’ credit. We did not miss the intensity, though.
“The desire and intent to play is always there. We did not have the possession that we usually have. That is why it seemed a cooler performance. We were playing at home and we must always be looking to have the ball, that is usual.
“Malaga are playing well. Tactically they did well. Playing in such a short time again, the opponent can learn things. We could have scored more in the first half. The thing to do is now go back to Malaga and aim to win there.”
Zubizarreta was then asked for comment on former colleague Pep Guardiola’s decision to sign for Bayern from next season.
“I’m happy for Pep. It’s good because it means he has recovered and he is looking forward again. It’s also good for football because it was not good to have the best Coach out.
“Bayern have made a great signing. He came to this small country and became a magnificent Coach. Germany is a good country and the choice is very good. He has found what he is looking for.”
