Barcelona Manager Xavi Hernandez claims his side have overcome their mental barriers in European competition following their 1-0 win over Porto at the Estadio do Dragao.
The Blaugrana took the lead in first-half stoppage time through Ferran Torres, but spent most of the second half under the cosh from Porto. Torres ended up being the only forward on the pitch for Barcelona, with Robert Lewandowski (injured), Lamine Yamal and Joao Felix all being replaced.
Xavi admitted to Sport that the performance was not ideal, but said it was a step forward mentally.
“It was not the best”, he remembered that “in the lead up to the match, they talked about us dealing with ghosts and we got them rid of them against a historic rival.”
Barcelona were far from convincing in their 1-0 win over Porto last night, but Xavi was relatively positive. #Barca pic.twitter.com/yOaqZkJWib
— Football España (@footballespana_) October 5, 2023
He once again made it clear that the Champions League can make anyone look bad, and praised his side’s effort.
“Many things have happened. Many difficulties came about during the game and we were dealing with very adverse circumstances. We needed to control more in the second half. But this is the Champions League. We see it with other results that it is very difficult to win, especially away from home. The effort has been extraordinary without it being our best game.”
Barcelona did manage to get the away win in Europe, but the performance probably didn’t inspire too much confidence going forward. The Blaugrana still seem unable to control games in the Champions League against better teams, and if they do progress, becomes likely to penalise them. However while Barcelona are winning, Xavi will no doubt take the positives and look to improve – wins will allow him the breathing space to do so.
