BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez insisted Saturday his club were in a dip but not falling into crisis and said president Joan Laporta had full confidence in his project.
The Spanish champions have played poorly in recent weeks and fell to an embarrassing 1-0 defeat by Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday in Hamburg.
Despite the loss, Barcelona are still joint group leaders and expected to qualify for the knock-out phases, and are third in La Liga.
The Catalans lost at home to Real Madrid in the Clasico on October 28 and scraped a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad last weekend, despite a drab performance.
“I don’t think this is (my worst moment) at all, my worst moment as a coach came last year,” Xavi told a news conference, referring to his team’s Champions League group stage elimination.
“I have lived through terrible crises here, this doesn’t go that far, it’s a dip ... we haven’t played well, we have to recover our game.
“Getting that back is key — as a coach, I feel good, this is nothing to do with the situation we had last year.”
Spanish media singled out Xavi for criticism after the Shakhtar loss, but the coach said Laporta was ‘calm’.
“After each game we speak with the president,” explained Xavi.
“We are very united, he’s a very positive person, more than me even, and he is very calm. “He has maximum confidence in us, as staff and as a group.”
Barcelona host Alaves on Sunday seeking to rebuild confidence after a tricky few weeks.
Xavi said the team needs to adhere to their traditional strategy of positional play to find their way out of their slump.
“We’ve played badly for two games and we have to recover, to be more faithful to our identity,” he continued.
“(It’s happened) because we’re not well positioned on the pitch, we are sure what we can, or must, improve, and I hope from tomorrow everyone sees that.”
Barca are in a dip, not a crisis: coach Xavi
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Barca are in a dip, not a crisis: coach Xavi
- Barcelona are still joint group leaders and expected to qualify for the knock-out phases, and are third in La Liga
- “I don’t think this is (my worst moment) at all, my worst moment as a coach came last year,” Xavi told a news conference
Arsenal hoist first Women’s Champions Cup in thrilling win over Corinthians
- Foord beat goalkeeper Lele at her near post in the 104th minute to earn a dramatic winner over the Copa Libertadores champions in front of a crowd that included FIFA president Gianni Infantino
- As the winners of FIFA’s new intercontinental tournament featuring champions from all six confederations, Arsenal will collect a $2.3 million prize
LONDON: Arsenal’s Caitlin Foord struck in extra time to power them to victory in the inaugural Women’s Champions Cup on Sunday, defeating Brazil’s Corinthians 3-2 in a rain-soaked final at the Emirates Stadium.
Reigning Champions League winners Arsenal looked set to seal the title in normal time, leading 2-1 before Vic Albuquerque converted a 96th-minute penalty to force extra time.
Olivia Smith and Lotte Wubben-Moy also scored for Renee Slegers’ team before Foord beat goalkeeper Lele at her near post in the 104th minute to earn a dramatic winner over the Copa Libertadores champions in front of a crowd that included FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“It’s not often that at Arsenal you can write history because history has been written so many times,” Wubben-Moy told Sky Sports.
“We stand on the shoulders of giants. To come to this inaugural competition and win it and do it with all of our fans here in style — — our fans are wonderful and that’s who we do it for.
“To win the first silverware this year is a big leap forward. We want more. Stick with us, 2026 has more to come.”
As the winners of FIFA’s new intercontinental tournament featuring champions from all six confederations, Arsenal will collect a $2.3 million prize.
The one negative on the night was Arsenal’s goalkeeper Anneke Borbe being carried off on a stretcher following a collision with teammate Wubben-Moy late in extra time.
The timing of the tournament favored Arsenal, who are in the midst of their Women’s Super League season, while Corinthians are in their pre-season and CONCACAF Champions Cup winners Gotham FC are in their off-season.
Arsenal had thrashed Moroccan champions AS FAR 6-0 in Wednesday’s semifinals, while Corinthians had edged Gotham, of the National Women’s Soccer League, 1-0 in the other semis.
Gotham secured third place with a 4-0 win against AS FAR earlier on Sunday.
