Xavi: "A clásico in a final is fantastic for everyone”
The culé coach showed "his disappointment" for the performance of his team, in a game with many different phases and Betis dominance in many of them
Xavi Hernández, the FC Barcelona head coach, appeared before the media, acknowledging that Betis had dominated the game for many moments and expressed his "disappointment" with the second half. "We have to have some self-criticism, especially in the second half," he pointed out, before stating that they had met their first goal in the tournament: "playing in the final." A final that is a clásico, something that the Barça coach considered “fantastic for everyone”.
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— RFEF (@rfef) January 12, 2023
"El primer objetivo era jugar la final, ahora intentaremos ganarla porque para nosotros es muy importante"
- 𝗫𝗮𝘃𝗶 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮́𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘇 #superSupercopa pic.twitter.com/kmLGqCOoXg
Regarding what happened in the semifinal, Xavi analyzed that, faced with high pressure from Real Betis, it had been difficult for his team to play and pick up rhythm and intensity, especially in that second half in which they had "lacked the mentality of going for the match". A matter that Xavi recognized, just as he stressed that Ter Stegen and his shooters "had made the difference" in the penalty shootout, highlighting them. "We have been lucky to have Ter Stegen, who has taken us to the final," he stated categorically.
With that first objective of playing in the final accomplished, it is their turn to face Real Madrid. Now it's time to "prepare it well and recover the players after a great effort", he pointed out, ready to fight for the title on Sunday against the white team.