Xavi and Piqué faced the press ahead of Wednesday’s decisive game against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Where they talked about, making history, Lewandowski, and the possibility of dropping to the Europa League.
Here’s what Xavi had to say:
The game:
“We face the game with great enthusiasm and are eager for it to start. Bayern is one of the best in the world, and they are ahead of us. Although, we depend on ourselves. If we win, we qualify. Barca has never won in Munich but records are made to be broken.”
“I see the players train and I think we can compete. Being away from home is not the best scenario for such a decisive game. I hope the last defeats against Bayern do not affect us. The pressure is on me. Tomorrow we must be the protagonists in the game.”
“We are trying to make Barca superior to every rival in Europe. There is a lot of work for that, patience is needed. We must compete tomorrow and try to win. After the game, we will analyze where we are.”
“I am working to win tomorrow and progress to the next round. Then we have other competitions to focus on. Tomorrow we have a chance to make history and win in Munich.”
“It is clear that if we don’t win, we depend on Benfica. We should depend on ourselves.”
“It is a shame that fans can’t be there to experience the atmosphere. Bayern doesn’t have anything to play for, but they have a lot of players who don’t play a lot and who would want to impress the coach.”
Staying in the Champions League:
“We will try. Whoever tries and gives their all till the end is not a failure. Our fate remains in our hands but we have a very difficult opponent in front of us.”
Dembélé:
“I have said it many times, he is a very important player for us. He has helped a lot. I see him happy and tomorrow he must be important, but not only him. Practically, Barca has to play a perfect match to win.”
Jordi Alba:
“Alba had some discomfort against Betis, but it seems fine. Tomorrow is a final and he knows how important he is. I am positive that he will be fit.”
Lewandowski:
“If he is not the best, he is one of the best. He has made a difference for many years. Lewandowski is much more than scoring goals. We will have to do important defensive work to get him outside our box.”
Here’s what Piqué had to say:
Closed-door game:
“It will not make a difference for Bayern, they have already qualified. We need the victory but both teams will go for it. Let’s see who wins.”
Barca’s finishing:
“We can spend hours speaking on this topic. We must look at the present and the future. There are things to be hopeful about. Barca is not in an ideal situation, but the team is doing things that were not done previously, little by little, things like retaining possession after losing the ball. This is essential to win games and titles. I am sure that we will improve. The goal will come”
The game:
“Bayern is going to compete to win, this is an opportunity to redeem ourselves. Although indeed the last two games against Bayern have not worked out, that’s the past. We have enough quality to scrap past them.”
Possibility of winning:
“Yes, it is possible. It is a complicated game in a very difficult stadium. Bayern has not lost a Champions League group stage game here for many years. They have also scored a lot more goals than us in this campaign. The objective is to keep a clean sheet. We must attack, they won’t be comfortable if we stay in their half.”
Lewandowski:
“We must make him stay away from our goal. For that, we need the whole team to play in their half. The less he participates, the better.”
Difference between the clubs since 2015:
“Management, that’s it.”
