FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez warned that La Liga could be lost if his team slips up against Cadiz, and also called comments made about Lamine Yamal “disgusting” at a pre-match press conference on Friday.
The Catalans travel to the Nuevo Mirandilla at the weekend while eight points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid at the summit.
“For us it’s vital,” he said about being victorious on the road. “La Liga can end if we don’t win. We have to go all out so as not to throw in the towel. If we fail, El Clasico [on April 21] will be of very little use. It’s a key day.”
Xavi later reinforced this message by saying that beating Cadiz is “important” to “have a chance in La Liga”. “To have a chance of getting within five points of Madrid if we win the Clasico. But if we don’t manage to do that, we would almost say goodbye to La Liga.”
On Saturday, Madrid plays first against Mallorca. It is still unclear whether Xavi’s opposite number in the Spanish capital, Carlo Ancelotti, will make rotations considering Wednesday’s Champions League last eight showdown with Manchester City.
And with Barca hosting PSG at the same stage of the competition a day before, Xavi stressed that the outcome in Son Moix “won’t change anything” as per his own first XI.
“What worries me is discomfort and tiredness. But we’ll build a team to win: we have to put the Champions League aside and focus on La Liga,” he insisted.
One thing that remains unconfirmed is that if of the stand-out players in Paris, Ilkay Gundogan, will sit the Cadiz match out.
“We want to give him a rest but it’s not easy,” Xavi said. “He’s playing spectacularly. We’ll see tomorrow, [but] he’s not a teenager.”
Someone that is a teenager is Lamine Yamal. In the build-up to kick off, he was the subject of widely-criticized remarks from Movistar pundit German Burgos who said he would “end up at a traffic light” if playing football or doing kick-up tricks didn’t pan out.
Barca refused to give post-match interviews to the Spanish broadcaster as a consequence, with Movistar and Burgos later deciding to part ways according to Relevo.
Asked what he thought about the comments from the ex-Atletico Madrid goalkeeper, Xavi said they were “disgusting” and “reprehensible” but hadn’t affected the 16-year-old.
“He’s fine. He’s happy. There’s no need to talk about this anymore,” Xavi demanded.