By Miguel Rapetti
Nov 28, 2023, 11:42 PM EST
The Barcelona coach, seasons.
The Blaugranas turned around a goal from Eduardo Gabriel Aquino Cossa, better known as Pepê, half an hour into the match, thanks to goals from Joao Cancelo and Joao Félix, in the first and second half, respectively, so Xavi He decided to recognize and praise the work of his team.
“Classification means a lot, we fulfilled the first objective of the season,” said the Catalan coach, who valued “being classified on the fifth day.”
“Cancelo has been very good. We generated a lot on his side and we achieved the tie two minutes after conceding with his goal,” the coach explained.
He also praised the performance of the substitute goalkeeper, Iñaki Peña, who started due to Marc-André ter Stegen’s injury and who he said “has been very good with patience and progression.”
Xavi pointed out that the victory “does not free you from anything”, and insisted that “the move to the round of 16 is only a peace of mind ticket until Sunday”, alluding to the match against Atlético de Madrid in the League.
“There will be no eleven type. Today very important players have not played at the start: Balde, Ferran, Lamine Yamal, Fermín… In modern football there are 15 or 16 players who play regularly,” he added.
Regarding the rival, the Barça coach pointed out that, in the first half, Porto “covered the construction line well”, but that in the second his players “understood where the free man was and sought to play in the middle, where Pedri was only”.
“I wouldn’t like to meet Porto again, they are very tough rivals. We are not afraid, but rather respect all teams,” highlighted the Catalan in reference to the draw for the round of 16 of the Champions League.