Barcelona under Xavi has reached the final of the Spanish Super Cup where they will be playing league rivals Real Madrid on 16th January. Obviously, it is good news for fans as we will be able to enjoy one more El Classico. But Xavi is for sure the most anxious one as he looks to win his first trophy as a Barcelona manager.
Poor Decisions by Xavi:
In the Semi-Final against Real Betis Xavi made the same mistakes of poor in-game decisions as he has been doing ever since he took the reigns of Barcelona. Ousmane Dembele was probably the best-attacking threat on that day but Dembele was substituted in the 63rd min along with De Jong with just a 1-goal lead.
Pellegrini's side eventually equalized late into the game and in a situation, Xavi had already taken off 2 of his best on-field players. Sergio Busquets has repeatedly failed to do the defensive work this season yet he was brought on the field so early in the 63rd min which makes no sense except for risking Barcelona's own defence.
Such poor initial decisions regarding substitutions led him to make two more defensive substitutions to fortify his defence even after conceding the goal just to make sure they don't concede another goal until the end of Extra Time and keep hopes of reaching the final alive. Obviously, Barcelona needed more attacking gun power but Xavi was left with little option.
In the Extra Time Barcelona took the lead again with Ansu Fati's screamer but Barcelona again conceded a few minutes later & so much to fortify the defence went down the drain and Barcelona was left with no option to make any kind of substitution. It all came down to the faults behind those initial decisions.
The Final:
Barcelona will be playing the final against last season's UCL winners and arch-rivals Real Madrid. If Xavi wants to clinch his first title as a Barcelona manager he needs to be at his best when it comes to decision-making. The attacking threat, Real Madrid can produce on both the wings especially, Barcelona full-backs need to be on high alert throughout the match and not as they performed against Real Betis.
If Xavi's Barcelona manages to beat Ancelotti's Madrid in the final it would be no less than a fairy tale memory for Xavi and all Barcelona Fans.
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