Barcelona had only scored 5 goals in a match twice under Xavi Hernandez this time last week, but with the arrival of Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo, he has doubled that total.
Both Cancelo and Felix started against Real Betis and Royal Antwerp, with remarkably positive results. Beyond the scorelines, Barcelona looked convincing in their domination, showing penetration but also averaging 68% possession over those two games.
During the international break, Robert Lewandowski had noted that Barcelona were not playing with enough players in attack, but the arrival of Felix has changed that.
Xavi was asked how exactly Felix had helped Lewandowski, who also has two goals in his last two games.
“Joao has done us good because of his dynamism, the understanding he has of when he has to give us depth, he understands when he has to come deeper. He is a player that in between the lines can be another central midfielder, and this helps us a lot. He doesn’t lose the ball in areas where we are building up, and when he needs to play it simple, he plays it simple. This doesn’t just benefit Robert, this benefits the whole team.”
“I think it has done Robert good, but also the step forward that Gavi has taken, that Frenkie has, Ori [Oriol Romeu], who are giving assists, Gundogan, obviously too. He improves the whole team. But I think everyone has taken a step forward, and this was what was required, there are a lot of footballers at a high level.”
Felix has certainly been the flashiest of Barcelona’s players over the past week, scoring three and assisting one, but there is little doubt in Catalonia that Frenkie de Jong and Gavi are playing their best football currently. In terms of speed of circulation, Barcelona have rarely moved the ball as fast under Xavi Hernandez.
