Barcelona coach Xavi reacted to comments made by his PSG counterpart before the match between their two teams.
PSG and FC Barcelona cross swords on Wednesday evening at the Parc des Princes. Luis Enrique, the Parisian coach, launched hostilities on Tuesday by declaring that he has more of the Barça spirit than Xavi. A pretentious statement that could have offended his future counterpart.
It didn't happen in the end. When he appeared in front of the press, the Blaugrana coach put out the fire and avoided responding. He left responsibility for the comments to Luis Enrique. “Luis Enrique?” You know him. He's like that. Me and him, we have a good personal relationship. I have a lot of respect for him. He is one of the best coaches in the world. We both have Barça DNA, and it's the same for Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola. And all four of us are in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. We have the same objective, which is to go to the end. We want to do the same thing and there is the same thing that identifies us. Afterwards, it’s the work of the players on the pitch.”
Xavi puts pressure on PSG
If he avoided responding to his compatriot, Xavi did not hesitate to put a little pressure on Paris. “They are favorites. And it's not a strategy to say that. They are the favorites because they have a great team. We are excited but it is true that we are not the favorites. I really think so. »
Finally, the Barcelona coach spoke about the danger that Kylian Mbappé can represent. “Mbappé can make the difference, yes. But he is not the only one. There is also Kolo Mbappé, Dembelé, Vitinha. But Mbappé is the scorer, it's true. You have to mark it well, be aggressive and be attentive. Because PSG in transitions is one of the best teams in the world. You have to do a good job.”
