Rather sober and measured last Wednesday after the success (2-3) at the Parc des Princes, Xavi was a little sharper this Tuesday evening when he faced the microphones.
At the end of the defeat (1-4) and the elimination conceded by his troops, the Barcelona coach did not raise his voice, but he put the weight of the defeat on the referee, Mr. Kovacs , whom he considers guilty of having truncated this quarter-final second leg of the Champions League which his team controlled before Araujo’s expulsion.
How do you feel after this elimination?
XAVI. I will try to speak calmly. We had decided to put on a good show but outnumbered, football disappeared. We had a few options at the end but against a team of the level of PSG, it’s very complicated. I asked the referee to go see the VAR because it (Editor’s note: the expulsion of Araujo) is a question of interpretation. Eleven against eleven, we dominated. I would have liked us to play with eleven players throughout the match. We need to do something very clearly so that a team does not find itself in this kind of situation.
The expulsion changed the match. What did you want to prioritize at that time?
I had to change Lamine (Yamal), to my great regret, because he had been very good and had even scored the goal. But then we had to defend very hard, it’s not our greatest strength. We continued to play, we had chances but it didn’t go through. As a coach I am proud because eleven against eleven, we beat PSG but the referee’s decision changed the situation. We can be proud of ourselves, we lost in a very dignified manner, and on a referee’s decision that we cannot control. The expulsion destroyed the match.
Luis Enrique said that even without the expulsion Paris would have won and that he wanted you to remain Barça coach for many years. What does this inspire you?
I say no to both of his remarks. Because, for the first time, eleven against eleven we controlled the match in attack and defense. As for additional years at Barça, that will not be the case.
Doesn’t tonight’s scenario make you want to continue on the Barça bench?
No, I’m very proud, we played against very high level teams. We were better than PSG, that’s what I remember as a coach. I am very proud of my team, of Barça. Barça was alive in the competition. He will be competitive again but that doesn’t change my decision.
We understand your frustration with the referee but you too were sent off…
Yes I made a mistake too. In this case, yes, I recognize that it is my fault.
Do you have the impression that Barça is not respected?
We have no luck with refereeing decisions. Since I have been here, it has been a journey of the cross in this area. There, this arbitration was bizarre, to say the least…
Despite the elimination, isn’t it a good sign to see Barça doing well again on the European scene?
Yes, we are under construction and we can do great things. Imagine when this team will be built… We had a great Champions League campaign against Porto, Napoli and PSG. I would even say that we were better than those teams. This Barça team has a future.
With this elimination, Barça only has the championship title to play for. Do you believe it?
I want to get my guys’ morale back. This elimination is a hard blow. But we’re not going to give up and we’re going to try to get the guys back. We can come back to five points. We want to win on Sunday in Madrid.
