Before playing in Montilivi, Xavi is clear about one thing: Girona is a Champions team. “It doesn’t matter what the classification says, they are in the Champions League because of how they play. And that’s what I’ve told my players, that we’re playing against a team of that level,” he explained about his talk to the squad.
The Barça coach wanted to publicly congratulate the Girona team. “It is time to congratulate Girona, which has made history. For Catalan football it is magnificent, a source of pride, that Girona is competing with the greats. “I think the club has gotten everything right, with Míchel, with the players…” he praised them, despite the growing rivalry between both sides.
With five games left, and with no real options for the Blaugrana to fight for the League, Míchel’s men are a direct rival for second place. But not only that. The visitor’s victory in Montjuïc in the first round hurt Barça’s pride. Xavi did not hide that he wants to make up for that 2-4. “It is not a personal issue, it is a challenge of football revenge for the first round match. We want to win for football revenge, in Montjuïc we deserved more and we would like to show that justice was not done that day,” confessed the Egarense.
Xavi analyzed the mistakes of that match. “They were very forceful and we did not defend the area well or adjust well in the inside square. We were bad in defending the 3-4-3. We threw ourselves back like in Miguel’s goal. We understood it wrong because we were pursuing at an individual level, which is what not to do,” he recalled.
Although both teams play similar attacking football, Xavi attributes the difference in performance between Oriol Romeu, formerly of Girona, at Barça and Eric Garcia, on loan from the Blaugrana, at Montilivi to environmental pressure. “How many people cover Barça? And to Girona? In Girona you play calmer. It has nothing to do with it. The footballers themselves tell you. When you talk to Eric he tells you that they have the feeling that they play more liberated. It is difficult to change that,” he compared the two contexts.
The Catalan duel will also be a clash between Dovbyk and Lewandowski for top scorer. The Ukrainian has 19 goals compared to the Pole’s 16 after the hat-trick against Valencia. “Individual awards are not the main objectives. We want second place, if Zamora or Pichichi come, it is not the fundamental thing,” he clarified.
Unlike what has happened with Sergi Roberto, Frenkie de Jong or even Araújo, the coach was not forceful in his desire to have Lewandowski next year. “Sergi Roberto finishes and Robert has a contract. That is the difference,” he explained about his statement in defense of the captain and not for the forward, who turns 36 in August. “We greatly value Lewandowski’s presence in the team. We will decide about the future when the season ends,” he left the door open.
