Head coach Xavi is delighted that FC Barcelona defeated Galatasaray on Thursday evening and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League. The Spaniard thinks his team is ready for Sunday’s game against Real Madrid.
“Clásico comes at a good time for us,” said Xavi after a 1-2 win in Istanbul. “But that’s not saying much. In the past we have won games against Real where we were not in shape and lost when we had a good run. Sunday will be very difficult anyway.”
Not only FC Barcelona benefits from a good result in the standings against their opponent Madrid, the Catalans also count on rehabilitation. At this season’s Camp Nou, then-coach Ronald Koeman lost to Real and earlier this year he lost again in Saudi Arabia, where the two rivals played the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup.
Things are much better now with Barcelona, who are currently unbeaten for 11 games in a row. The critical victory over Galatasaray did not materialize on Thursday evening, as Marcão Teixeira took the lead at the Turkish top club after half an hour.
Pedri made the half 1-1 and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Barcelona the victory at the start of the second half with a pass from Frenkie de Jong.
FC Barcelona defeated Galatasaray to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
‘We are not the favorites to win in the Europa League’
According to Xavi, the score could have been even higher. “I don’t know exactly how many balls we had, but we were always in the half of Galatasaray. We dominated and created enough positions. Frankly, this result is still very small.”
Given the status of FC Barcelona, the club is quickly counted among the favorites for the title, but Xavi makes sure that he does not exaggerate. “I don’t see us as favourites. We don’t know this tournament and our opponents. We are definitely one of the contenders and it feels good to be in the quarter-finals, but no more than that.”
FC Barcelona will announce the opponent of the quarter-finals on Friday from 1.30 pm. RB Leipzig, SC Braga, Atalanta, Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt, Olympique Lyon and West Ham United are also participating in the draw.
The crack between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona starts on Sunday at 9 p.m. in the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Source: NU
Jason Jack is an experienced technology journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in computer science and engineering, he has a deep understanding of the latest technology trends and developments. He writes about a wide range of technology topics, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, software development, and cybersecurity.