Barcelona settled for a goalless draw to Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on Saturday in La Liga 2022-23 opener. Meanwhile, Xavi feels that Barca raised its expectations a bit high this time.
On Saturday, the 2022-23 season of La Liga got underway. Spanish giants Barcelona played its opening game against Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou. However, it was not the ideal result that the Barca fans expected, as the side settled for a goalless draw. The game also saw a low from the hosts, as veteran defender Sergio Busquets saw his second yellow in the match and was sent off at the stroke of full-time, earning himself an automatic one-game suspension in the following away tie against Real Sociedad. In the meantime, the Blaugrana boss Xavi admitted that the side had generated too many expectations.
During the post-match press conference, Xavi commented, "I understand the disappointment. We had generated a lot of expectations. We have to analyse the game well, improve and continue to believe in the model and keep working. It's a shame because we wanted to show the fans that we are on the right track."
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"It's a disappointment, but we ask for patience. We needed to attack better and create chances. We didn't play our best game. We are disappointed. It could be that the expectations were raised a little bit too high. It's a bit insufficient. I don't want to look for excuses. Just explanations. There had better be high expectations," added Xavi, reports MARCA.
Barcelona remains uncertain regarding the future of Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong since the conclusion of last season, as he is being eyed by English giants Manchester United and Chelsea. While he came in as a substitute against Vallecano, Xavi affirmed that the Dutchman remains a crucial player for the side.
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"He [De Jong] is not a backup. I've already said that. He's an important player. If he's with us, he will be a player who will give us something even more so with this attitude. [Winning titles] is the objective. We have to analyse and improve. But, this season, the objective is to win titles. It doesn't change anything," Xavi concluded.