Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernández has, once more, made clear his frustration with his players.
Barca marked their return to action a short time ago, welcoming bottom-of-the-table Almería to Catalonia for a La Liga clash.
The Blaugrana headed into proceedings knowing nothing but a victory would suffice, after falling alarmingly off the pace of the title race over recent weeks.
After taking the lead on a pair of occasions either side of the interval, Barcelona were twice pegged back, only for Man of the Match Sergi Roberto to net a crucial winner inside the closing ten minutes to win the game 3-2 for the Catalans.
Despite his side’s eventual triumph, it should not come as a major surprise to hear of the Catalans’ boss being left feeling underwhelmed.
Speaking to the media post-match (as cited by Sport), Xavi was drawn on the nature of Barca’s latest display.
And the Spaniard was not at all shy in making his frustration known, taking aim at his star-studded squad for what he deemed at times an ‘unacceptable’ effort:
“The first half was unacceptable, we lacked aggression, intensity and I told the players that at half-time. If we lack effectiveness, we must have soul. Either we run and work like animals or it doesn’t reach us, we don’t have the Barça of 2010. Last year we won by aggressiveness, recovering balls, by effectiveness in the areas… what we can’t do is not give everything. In the second half it was a different team. Either we give up our skin or our lives or we won’t win anything. If it doesn’t come to us through football, it must come to us through our soul.
“It is very serious that a team that has only won one league title does not have a soul, but it will not happen again. It is my responsibility. During the break, I had the toughest talk of my career as a coach. Has it worked? You’ve already seen it. I liked the second half, unlike the first, and that’s why we won.”
He continued: “We have not given up. The first half was not the Barça we want. We lacked intensity and rhythm. We complicate our lives ourselves. We lacked the 30 shots we took and we gave away two goals. The first half is not acceptable for our dressing room and our club. With the second half, we can achieve things. With the first one, no.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
