Xavi: “We are Barça and we’ll go to win in Munich and everywhere else”

Barcelona faced Benfica this evening in a crucial Champions League clash at Camp Nou. The Catalan side were second in Group E going into the game, two points clear of tonight’s opponents but six off pace-setters Bayern Munich.

Best stadium itw, even on a cold, rainy night in Barcelona #BarçaBenfica pic.twitter.com/JKWl5tg7Uk

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 23, 2021

The game finished scoreless, despite both Nicolás Otamendi and Ronald Araújo seeing goals of theirs ruled out. In the case of the former, the ball momentarily veered out of bounds as it was being delivered from the right wing, while in the case of the latter the Uruguayan was a touch offside as the ball was played to him. The battle for second spot will go down to the last matchday.

Barcelona have endured a tough start to the season and sit seventh in La Liga at the time of writing, although Xavi’s appointment as coach during the international break has meant that the atmosphere at the club has changed and become considerably more positive. They won the opening fixture of his reign at the weekend, beating Espanyol 1-0.

🚨 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 🚨#BarçaBenfica pic.twitter.com/59bgaTUSS9

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 23, 2021

“It was a great game,” Xavi said post-match in comments carried by Marca. “If we had scored a goal, at least, it would have been a great game. Because it was. We got a point that we knew very little about. But being positive, we have one match left. We have to go and win in Munich.

“I think we played very well. They’re getting the idea. We were just missing a goal. In two games we’ve gotten only one goal and it was a penalty. We have to be more effective. We are Barça and we’ll go to win in Munich and everywhere else. We played a great game, despite the scoreless draw. I’m very satisfied with the attitude of my players.”