After the victory against Cádiz, , I know the group, I believe in the family we are and I had no doubt that we were going to take a step as a team. Now we are more supportive, we have more ambition… We are in the best moment of the season.”
“Today we competed very well in a very complicated field. I see the team very well, in a very good dynamic,” said the Terrassa coach, today in the stands of the Nuevo Mirandilla serving his second game of suspension. “We knew we were going to suffer, but we wanted to win to continue putting pressure on Real Madrid. In the end we suffered, but there are 3 vital points,” he stated.
Xavi also referred to the good level of the people who participate less in his elevens and highlighted the good performance of Joao Félix, MVP of the match against Cádiz: “He is a very talented player. He is comfortable, happy. He played a great game, not only because of the goal, he works and presses well. We leave him freedom of movement so that he can exploit his talent and today he has done very well.”
Joao Félix, for his part, acknowledged that Nuevo Mirandilla “is not an easy field”, but highlighted that Barça “knew how to suffer”. “We played a good game, we did well from the first minute.” “We have suffered a lot, we should control the games more but Cádiz is risking its life,” highlighted the Barça footballer, who acknowledged that “the end of the season is always like this” with teams fighting for permanence and for the title.
Regarding his good game, Joao Félix downplayed its importance on an individual level: “I try to do my best to help the team. I prepare at the best level, whether I am a starter or not, and when I am in I try to show that I can. We all work to be starters. I am one more who wants to play. I know that I can contribute to the team and I do what I can to be in it,” he said. Finally, he also talked about his bicycle kick goal: “Two years ago I scored a bicycle kick here. This field gives me luck.”
After this important victory against Cádiz, Barça is once again thinking about the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against PSG, with everything yet to be decided: “On Tuesday we have a real war,” Xavi confessed. The coach was confident that his team would respond: “Now comes the best, comes the most beautiful, the most exciting, the most fun to play. We want to do something big, even knowing that things are complicated,” he warned.
It was also a special day for Marcos Alonso, who returned against Cádiz after five months injured. His last game was on November 7 against Shakhtar: “I’m happy to be back, it’s been a long time,” acknowledged the footballer, who sees in this game “an opportunity to get minutes and show that I can have continuity from now on.” end of season”.
The full-back confessed that “it was a complicated match in the middle of an important tie and against a team that was risking its life,” but stressed that Barça “knew how to suffer.” “It was a bit of a trap match between the Champions League and before the classic,” he stated.
