Xavi Hernández surprised with his line-up against Manchester United. After a very solid run, with a defensive line established for the most demanding matches, the coach made a move. Christensen and Balde left the lineup; Marcos Alonso and Jordi Alba entered.
Before the match, and to the general surprise, Xavi explained his reasons: “The two changes in defense are because there are many games in the next few days. Seven in 21 days and you have to use all the players to prevent injuries. we need to rotate“. And later, he added: “we have already seen what has happened with Pedri”.
The most striking thing was that Xavi seemed to take more into account the wear and tear against Villarreal than the closeness of the duel against Cádiz, an ideal test for rotations. From the line-up against United, beyond avoiding the fatigue of some players, it also follows that LaLIga is the top priority. And that many of Barça’s decisions this season must be understood in this sense.
Xavi presented his ideal eleven at La Cerámica, despite the proximity of United. It was necessary to try to increase the distance with Madrid and no key player was given up. A few weeks ago the coach made no secret of the club’s intentions: “for us the League is the most important goal once we’re out of the Champions League,” he recalled.
At the club they know the importance of winning LaLiga to reinforce the project. In this sense, they understand that Barça is still in the process of starting a winning cycle. A process that begins by winning the regularity tournament to, starting next season, dreaming of the Champions League again. The club does not give up winning the Cup or the Europa League this season, but the main objective is to become strong in LaLiga with a squad that does not have an excess of troops.
