UEL: 'It is the most difficult opponent once again' - Xavi on Barcelona vs Man United in playoffs

The draw for the UEFA Europa League (UEL) 2022-23 playoffs was made on Monday evening. A blockbuster match was set, as Spanish giants, Barcelona was drawn against former champion and English giants Manchester United. While the latter finished in second place of its group in the UEL, the former secured third place in its UEFA Champions League (UCL) group, leading to the playoff. It is the second successive season that Barca will be playing in the UEL. Meanwhile, the Catalan's head coach Xavi was not happy at being pitted against Erik ten Hag's men but is looking forward to the challenge, reports 90min.

Commenting about the draw, Xavi sounded, "It is the most difficult opponent once again, but we will look forward to it. They are a historical side. They have grown a lot with the arrival of Ten Hag. They have great players. It's the worst draw we could have got. Once again, no luck."

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On the other hand, Barcelona sporting director Jordi Cruyff relishes this contest and has termed it "special". "I think it's a draw that both teams would have preferred to have further down the line, not so quick, but that's the beauty of football. You never know what's going to come. It came now, and it's probably going to be a tough match for both, but also very special as these are two historic football clubs," he conveyed, reports FotMob.

"Barcelona is a club where the pressure is always at the max. Everything you start, you always need to win. That's the pressure these clubs have, the same that United will have. For us, it's a motivation, and the fact that we get a team like this so quickly means that this competition isn't easy. It's difficult, but you know we're motivated," added Cruyff.