Xavi Hernández claims that following 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 stages.
Even though they substituted Pedri, Lamine Yamal, and João Félix in the second half, the Spanish champions controlled possession and only managed one shot on goal.
In his post-match press conference, the Barcelona coach stated, “We deserved to lose.” “We must be truthful. Nothing we had planned worked out and we played poorly.
“We are currently 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 competition, and we weren’t doing that today. It’s obviously a step back.
“We’re upset. We need a reset because 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 a severity problem this time,” he explained. “We were unaware of the requirements for the game. We made mistakes, lost a lot of balls, and struggled to attack and handle crosses.”
Barça is tied with FC Porto atop Group G with nine points after four games, while Shakhtar is at six points and Royal Antwerp is still without a point.
“It’s a shame that we wanted to book our spot in the last 16,” Xavi commented. The big plus is that we still have control over our qualifications.
“We have Porto at home for our next game, where we can win it. The confidence needs to be restored. There is currently a slight decline.
“Not so long ago we had been playing excellent football — it’s a mental issue.”
João Cancelo, a defender for Barça, urged the team 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.
In the past two games, Cancelo stated, “We have played really badly.” “Today we didn’t play sufficiently well to get the points, and against Real Sociedad, we didn’t deserve to win.”
“Now we have a game on the weekend to come come back with a stronger attitude before the international break.”