Barcelona produced their 200th Champions League win as they booked a 2-1 victory against Shakhtar Donestk in a match Xavi has dubbed ‘complicated’.
Unlike every other match, Barcelona didn’t have it easy against Shakhtar as the Ukrainians fought hard to at least find a draw but sadly the power of the Spanish team was way more.
Barca opened the scorelines and extend their lead to 2 early in the first half but failed to net another as Shakhtar managed to stop conceding and instead began giving the pressure.
However despite Xavi admitting the visitors made the game complicated for them by the way they played, the Blaugrana still managed to hold on to their lead even though they lost one.
Speaking after the game, Xavi said; “I think Shakhtar really complicated this match for us.
“They competed for the ball, they wanted to match us – they were good in technical terms. We made a couple of errors but in general I’m happy with the quality of our play.
“I really think we could have won more comprehensively.”
20-year old Fermin Lopez was responsible for the second goal as he partnered with Ferran Torres to extend Barca’s lead with a performance that has gained him favor in the eyes of the manager.
“I’m thrilled with him in general. He’s a valuable guy to us,” Xavi said of Lopez.
“He’ll be in this Barcelona team for years, and I don’t say that lightly. He’s mentally prepared, he’s having a good season, he’s got a terrific shot from distance. I’m happy with him and happy for him.”
“Yes, I spoke to Fermín just before we scored our goals, and I told him that it was fundamental to make moves from the ‘second line’ and, once he’d dropped deeper to get possession, then to attack their goal,” he added.
“It’s fundamental that Fermín has a spectacular mentality. He’s always listening, always thinking and I really like his mentality – when you tell him things, they go in and he applies them.”
For more interesting football stories, kindly visit our homepage.
Be the first to comment