FC Barcelona Coach Xavi Hails ‘Perfect’ Atletico Madrid Thrashing And Criticizes ‘Unfair’ Red Card

Xavi Hernandez praised his FC Barcelona squad for performing flawlessly in their game against Atletico Madrid.

Xavi Hernandez praised his FC Barcelona squad for their outstanding performance and made note of their flawless execution against Atletico Madrid on Sunday. However, he expressed his disagreement towards being unjustly and needlessly issued a red card.

Barcelona played an outstanding match at the Metropolitano stadium, which some consider to be the best game they have played this season. They returned to their home city of Catalonia with a triumphant 3-0 victory. As a result, they climbed to second place, with a two-point lead over Girona, just before the international break.

After the game, Xavi informed DAZN Espana that he was greatly content with how his team performed. The players appeared to have had a surge in confidence after their recent advancement to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

The manager seemed very pleased with the team's performance. He said it was comparable to the game they played against Napoli. He also mentioned that Robert Lewandowski had played a big part in the victory along with Fermin Lopez and Joao Felix. The team had a good understanding and executed their tactics well. This was a perfect example of how they like to play. The manager's happiness was evident as he spoke about how everything went smoothly.

Xavi praised the defensive performance of 17-year-old Pau Cubarsi and Ronald Araujo, who helped keep a clean sheet against Atleti. According to Xavi, Barca's strong defensive display restricted Atleti's ability to generate any real danger.

Despite Gavi, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong being injured, it's impressive to note that Spain's outstanding win at one of their toughest stadiums was accomplished through the use of a makeshift midfield consisting of Ilkay Gundogan, Fermin and Sergi Roberto.

Gundogan excelled as a pivot, playing a defensive role instead of his original position due to an unforeseen injury to current stand-in and regular center back Andreas Christensen. As a result, Roberto was given the opportunity to play.

Xavi complimented Gundogan's ability to see the free man while playing at the base of midfield. The original plan to have him play on the right as a midfielder didn't work out due to Christensen's discomfort, so they chose to play Fermin instead because of his excellent attacking abilities. Overall, Xavi believes that Gundogan's positional play makes him a perfect match for their team.

Xavi didn't think it was necessary for him to be fired during the first half.

He emphasized that being sent off was not significant. The fourth official informed him that the reason was due to his actions indicating passion through gestures. Although he believes the punishment was unwarranted and unjust, he prioritizes the team's performance over his own.