Champions League
UCL: PSG Favourites To Reach Semifinal Despite Barcelona Win – Xavi
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez praised his team’s 3-2 victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday, emphasizing that the result demonstrated their ability to compete with the top teams in Europe once more.
“We had time to prepare for this game and everything turned out very well, in defense and attack. We are proud of the team. Paris played very well, but we kept their threat to a minimum,” Xavi commented on the match after Andreas Christensen’s 77th-minute header secured victory for Barcelona at the Parc des Princes.
Raphinha had put Barcelona in the lead at halftime, but PSG quickly turned the game around with goals from Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha in the opening six minutes of the second half. Despite this, Raphinha leveled the score with a volley from a Pedri pass before Christensen scored the winning goal.
“It is a great victory against one of the best teams in the world. It is very difficult to defend against this team because of how they press you, but we did it very well,” added Xavi, His team remains undefeated in 12 matches since he revealed his departure at the end of the season. “We are only halfway there though, and it will be very difficult in Barcelona.”
“PSG is still the favorite,” Xavi said in his postgame news conference. “It will be very difficult to win in Barcelona. Today we played well because we were united defensively. I’m very proud, everything worked well. We have to improve our concentration in the first minutes of the second half. We managed to mature and recover from a match that became very difficult.”
Barcelona is in the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2020, when they suffered an 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in Lisbon, following Lionel Messi’s departure. This victory marks their first away win in the knockout stage of the tournament since 2019.
The players believe in themselves,” said Xavi as he looked ahead to next Tuesday’s return at Montjuic. “They have this opportunity, and if they play in the same way they will get chances. Nothing is done but we can be proud. This match shows that Barça is very much alive.”
