Touched and almost sunk is Barcelona’s season after the elimination from the Champions League against PSG. It is the third title that Barça has lost after the Super Cup and the Cup, two defeats that in January greatly affected Xavi, to the point of announcing his departure on June 30. Barça is playing in the white house for its last chance to not end a season in which it had great aspirations and which, on the other hand, could mean the end point of the project, the first entirely for Laporta in his second stage.

With that horizon, nothing more Laportista than a classic that appeals to the instincts of Barcelona fans to turn the page and forget that they were incapable of defending a two-goal advantage against the Parisians. “It is very simple and easy. We have the opportunity to join the League and get within 5 points,” the coach harangued. There is no way around it: anything other than winning is saying goodbye.

After five days, according to Xavi, the noise from Gündogan’s criticism of Araújo’s expulsion and the mistake in the 1-2 corner has died down. “It’s settled. By talking people understand each other. When there is no bad intention, there is no problem,” he assured.

Barça lives in low hours and Madrid has settled in the heights. Xavi highly praised the competitive gene of his rival and does not believe that we should talk about luck. “When you have won so many times you play with more confidence and less urgency. It is no coincidence that Madrid has twice eliminated the best in the world, City, in three years. Well, we compete against that team in Spain,” he said, to give credit to his team. “We don’t have bad numbers, we are four points less than last year when we were loose leaders. But Madrid has one defeat in 31 games.”

Football is very mental and Xavi has warned his players to endure the first few minutes, which are key in the Super Cup final in Riyadh. “At the beginning of each half, Madrid will push and become emboldened. It is the perfect setting to demonstrate personality. In the first minutes it will be key to dominate and calm the high pressure that Madrid will apply,” warned the coach, who barely entered the appointment of Soto Grado, who expelled him on the first day in Getafe. “Talking about referees doesn’t help me at all. I hope I get a lot right,” said Xavi, an inveterate optimist who has less and less water left in his glass.