Before the CL game against Pilsen

The disappointment of missing out on the knockout stage of the Champions League is still perceptible at FC Barcelona these days. The duel with Viktoria Pilsen on Tuesday evening (from 9 p.m. in the live ticker TM) makes no sense sportingly (all the tables at a glance), Barça must fight their way to the Europa League as the last year. Newcomer Robert Lewandowski confirmed earlier this week (read the article) that what the seventh most valuable team in the world currently lacks to be able to resume the good old days on the international stage is serenity and stability – now his coach Xavi has reacted to the striker’s words.

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During the preliminary press conference, the 42-year-old initially tried not to cancel the Pilsen game in advance: « I’m motivated – even though it was a friendly game. We « We’re privileged to be at Barca, it’s the best club in the world. Players who get fewer assignments have to show up – just like young players. » He has appealed to competition and motivation within the squad, which went from strength to strength last summer to around €153m – only five clubs gave away more money on the (Site notre blog d’information), all from the English Premier League.

The coach is not ruling out further reinforcements this winter, he said: « We still have three matches before the break because of the World Cup. After contesting them, we have a month and a half to plan team is made up of young stars such as Gavi (18), Pedri (19) and Ansu Fati (20), winners of ‘Golden Boy’ and ‘Kopa’, three players whose combined market value is already 220 million euros.

The coach also attributes sporting performance in Europe to a resulting lack of scamming. Lewandowski is not wrong in his review, says Xavi: « Our performance is also explained by the fact that we have a lot of young players. In this constellation, I don’t know, we only played 16 or 17 games together « We had the toughest group in the Champions League for years (…) with some questionable refereeing decisions. We had a lot of injuries at crucial times, that’s no excuse, but « It caused us a lot of problems. But above all, we didn’t know how to master those stressful situations at the decisive moments to be competitive. I think that’s what Lewandowski is referring to. »

Xavi in ​​the FC Barcelona team: « Maybe we lack maturity »

In an interview with ‘La Vanguardia’ newspaper, Lewandowski was ‘not happy’ with the current situation and the departure. They are ‘in a rebuilding process which takes time,’ said the Pole, who added: ‘Bavaria have been incredibly stable for years. They may not be playing well because they weren’t much better than us against us in Munich, for example, but they win. Barcelona need that stability, but it’s not easy to create it. »

Asked about the words of the striker, who had rested against Pilsen and not in the group, Xavi took up the same line: “Lewandowski is absolutely right. You have to know how to compete at the right time, know how to dominate when you’re in front. But that has nothing to do with the idea of ​​our game. Robert is referring to knowing how to perform at times. I totally agree, maybe sometimes we still lack that maturity as a team.

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