Xavi Hernandez is bracing himself for arguably the most important game of his Barcelona tenure as the Catalans take on Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals this evening.
As Barcelona approach this game, TNT Sports has released an interview with Xavi Hernandez, where he talks about the upcoming game against PSG along with Barcelona’s superb resurgence this year.
Xavi on Barça’s comeback
Barcelona are unbeaten since Xavi announced his desire to leave Camp Nou at the end of the season.
Talking about his amazing comeback, Xavi said, “I think the key is that we compete as a team. We have been a team for these 13 games and we cannot change now. So, this is the time to compete as a team, this is the time to show character.“
“I think we are in the best moment of the season but as you know in football, we never know what will happen. We are excited and ready to compete well. It gave us more confidence, higher morale, so we are in our best moments,” he added.
Ready for the PSG game?
Xavi went on to offer his thoughts on the PSG game tonight and how Barcelona must approach this encounter.
“We need to do the same thing we did in Paris. But it will be very difficult because Luis Enrique and PSG have a lot of tactical combinations,” he remarked.
We need to organize the team well, attack well, defend well and in my opinion the main point is to be a team, so this is very important for us.”
“We are ready, excited. We’re happy to be competing against one of the best teams and one of the best coaches in the world. The whole environment in Barcelona is excited to compete. It’s a great opportunity for the club. We hope we compete well,” he added.
Extending his view, Xavi pointed out the importance of defending as a unit and preventing the PSG attackers from impacting the game too much.
“I think we need to defend almost the same way. Let’s see what PSG’s system does tomorrow, but we need to be a team. We need to be a team. We are well organized in defence,” Xavi said.
“The team is in attack, especially in the defence line, because Paris Saint-Germain usually plays with a very high defence line. So we need to access these spaces. I think we need to show our best level but show character to qualify for the semi-finals,” he added.
Xavi on Cubarsi and Yamal
Finally, Xavi talked about the rapid emergence of Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal, whose performances have been central in helping Barcelona reach this far.
Xavi backed the two youngsters, stating that they are ready to compete at the highest level. “I think they are ready, like the whole team, to compete. So far they’ve shown a lot of character at 16, 17. So I’m very proud, very proud that we’re competing with some teenagers,” he reflected.
“This is important for the club. The club is alive and I believe we have a present and a future. So I’m very proud of these players,” he concluded.
