Xavi Hernández claims that after their unexpected 1-0 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League in Hamburg on Tuesday, Barcelona is stuck and needs a fresh start.
Just before halftime, Danylo Sikan scored the game’s lone goal, and Barça lost the opportunity to secure their spot in the competition’s knockout rounds.
Even though they substituted Pedri, Lamine Yamal, and João Félix in the second half, the Spanish champs controlled possession and only managed one attempt on goal.
In his post-match press conference, the Barcelona coach said, “We deserved to lose.” “We must be truthful. Nothing we had planned worked out and we performed poorly.
“We are now performing at a very low level. During my two years as the manager, this was one of the worst games. We must be critical of ourselves.
“In the second half, there was some response, but not enough. Your best is required in this tournament, and we weren’t doing that today. It’s obviously a step back.
“We’re upset. We need a reset since our confidence has declined and we are stuck in a rut.
Over the weekend, Barça defeated Real Sociedad 1-0 in La Liga, but Xavi called the team’s performance against the Basque team “unacceptable” and questioned their level of commitment.
The Barça coach was even more dissatisfied with the way his team performed against Shakhtar, who have been forced to relocate to Hamburg for European matches because of the conflict in Ukraine.
“I wouldn’t say it was an intensity problem this time,” he said. “We were ignorant of the requirements for the game. We dropped a lot of balls, didn’t execute our attacks or deliveries properly, and paid a price for our errors.”
With nine points from four games, Barça and FC Porto are tied for first place in Group G. Shakhtar and Royal Antwerp are also at zero points.
“It’s a shame because we wanted to book our place in the last 16,” stated Xavi. “The main advantage is that we still control our own qualification.
“We can clinch it at home against Porto in our next game. We need to regain people’s trust. We’re currently experiencing a little decrease.
“Not so long ago we were playing very good football — it’s a mental issue.”
João Cancelo, a defender for Barça, urged the club to respond when they play Alaves on Sunday in La Liga. At the moment, they are in third place, two points behind Real Madrid and four behind surprise leaders Girona.
Cancelo said, “We have played really badly in the last two games.” “We didn’t deserve to win against Real Sociedad, and we didn’t play well enough tonight to earn the points.
“Now we have a game this weekend to come back with a better mentality before the international break.”
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