Barcelona head coach Xavi moved to reveal his appreciation for the recent efforts of an often forgotten member of his squad, late on Saturday.
The player in question? Oriol Romeu.
Midfielder Romeu played his part last night, as Barca marked their post-international break return to the pitch with a fifth win in six.
En route to an eventual 1-0 downing of Las Palmas, the former Girona man was introduced off the bench late on, doing a tidy job of keeping things ticking over in the middle of the park.
Romeu has of course endured a difficult debut season in Catalunya’s capital, with mounting speculation pointing towards a likely summer exit being on the cards for the 32-year-old.
As alluded to above, though, on Saturday, his manager was nevertheless keen to reserve some special praise for Romeu.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Xavi was drawn on the effect which injury problems have had on his side this season.
And, in his response, Barca’s headmaster pointed towards the fine job to have done by the backup members of his squad, with Romeu, in Xavi’s eyes, front and centre:
“There are injuries, but we have players at a high level. Look at Oriol Romeu, who has improved a lot.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
