Barcelona Boss Xavi Slams Players For Lack Of ‘Intensity’ In Shock UCL Defeat To Shakhtar Donetsk

The manager of Barcelona, Xavi, did not hold back when discussing his team’s shocking Champions League loss to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday.

Five minutes prior to halftime, a lone goal from Danylo Silkan allowed the Ukrainian team to completely blow open Group H. Shakhtar currently trail Barcelona and Porto in first and second place, respectively, by just three points, ensuring a thrilling end to the group stages. But for Xavi, the outcome on Tuesday represented a squandered chance to virtually secure qualification, and the Spaniard was incensed with his team’s performance that evening.

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“The Champions League demands the highest level and today we have not shown it, we are leaving angry,” Xavi told reporters after the match. “Intensity? No, today I would blame it on the game, we have not interpreted it correctly. We have to recover and improve. Nothing has gone as planned. It’s a clear step backwards. We have played one of the worst games in these two years… And at the most inopportune moment.

“We have to do a reset, we don’t feel comfortable. We are in a bad moment. It’s a mental issue. We are blocked, we do things wrong in general. We don’t apply pressure well and that takes its toll on us. We have to control the details of the game and make the players feel good on the pitch. We have to take a step forward.”

Shakhtar’s incredible victory not only helped them close the gap with the leaders in the group, but it also even the playing field for Porto following their victory over Royal Antwerp that same evening. After the international break, Sergio Conceicao’s team won 2-0 thanks to a record-breaking header from defensive stalwart Pepe. This set up an exciting showdown with Barcelona. The goal for the Catalans and Xavi is to prevent missing the Champions League knockouts for a third consecutive season.

But the Spaniard was quick to draw attention away from their Group H rivals, adding: “I’m not worried about the Porto game because we continue to depend on ourselves to qualify and I’m not thinking about anything else. At the moment the main thing is to recover for the game against Alaves. My job is for the players to regain confidence and dynamism. We have played very good games this season, now we are in a low moment and we have to recover the previous sensations.”

Xavi’s focus does indeed shift to domestic affairs this weekend. His team needs to defeat Alaves on Sunday in order to stay up with Girona, who lead the league by four points over Barcelona.