Xavi: "The criticism from the press affects my players and that's why we don't play as well"

The difficulties of Barcelona, which won its seventh league game by the minimum against Alavés, did not affect the spirit of Xavi Hernández, reluctant to self-criticism and determined to look for a new enemy. “What the press says affects the team's game, because negative scenarios are generated that are not real,” explained the Barça coach during the press conference after the 2-1.

The 71% of Barça possession against a rival that had only added two points as a visitor in six league games, barely translated into 11 shots and two corner kicks. However, Xavi ignored the difficulties of his attack to generate danger and preferred to point out to the journalists. “When I talk about the environment I am not referring to the fans, but to the press, which is very exaggerated. “The criticism from the press affects the footballers and that's why we don't play as well.”

“It is not normal that we do not see the best versions of our footballers because they do not play liberated,” he analyzed the alleged difficulties faced by Fermín López, Lamine Yamal or Pedri, starters against the Vitorians, although far from their best version. “This affects, especially the youngest ones,” he added after a duel where his players ended up asking for the time.

“More tense than normal”

In the opinion of the former Spanish international, his players play “more tense than normal, due to everything that is generated outside” their environment. To these difficulties we had to add the 0-1, the work of Samu Omorodion when barely 18 seconds of play had elapsed. In fact, the reaction could only materialize in the second part.

“At half-time I told them to be calm. They also told me that it was Barça's cancer and here I am, as a coach,” Xavi stressed in the press room of the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. After Mateo Busquets' final whistle, the tone did not change too much in the locker room. “I was kind to the players, because they needed more love than criticism.”

The only moment in which the former Al Sadd coach took aim at his squad was when he admitted that the improvement compared to recent performances against Real Sociedad and Shakhtar Donetsk had been “minimal”. “Winning without being good also shows that the team has character and faith,” he concluded after the ninth league victory of the season.