“I am surprised and saddened by the hostile environment in San Mamés.” Xavi he did not understand anything of what had happened in the modern Athletic stadium. He had to listen to Barça shouting “A Segunda, a Segunda!” which surprised the Barça coach. “Judging ahead of time is not good for society”, added the coach,
Xavi has acknowledged, yes, that he was as satisfied with “a golden victory in a start marked on the calendar” as complaining, not much, for not having been able to decide before. “We’ve had 70-75 minutes at a good level, with two or three clear chances to close the game.”
The coach praised the defensive solvency and recognized that the team must improve “in being more calm and patient to play more in the opposite field” when it takes the lead on the scoreboard. In the individual chapter, he did not hesitate to praise De Jong’s game. “one of the best midfielders in the world”, he declared.
DAZN EXCLUSIVE IMAGE ????
This was the rain of tickets in San Mamés with which the fans of the @AthleticClub protested everything that happened with the Negreira Case ????????#ElPostDeDAZN ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/ijTiD5YF7q
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) March 12, 2023
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Ter Stegen, one of Barça’s heroes, highlighted the defensive work. «We have defended with everyone, even on the goal line. The victory gives us a lot and in the end it is what counts », he underlined the importance of 0-1, “in a super difficult field”. Regarding the goal, he was blunt: “For this we have VAR.”
Ernesto Valverde, the Athletic coach, did not see it in the same way, much more forceful than usual. “It’s a question of what is football and what is not, not whether it touches his arm a bit. They told us that the VAR was to correct gross errors, and not for someone with a telescope to solve something five plays earlier.”
