‘Unacceptable!’ – Xavi blasts Barcelona’s lack of spirit against Almeria

The boss has made his feelings clear

• By
  
  Gill Clark
  
• on December 21, 2023 12:00 am

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez was understandably not happy with his players after seeing his team struggle to beat Almeria at home in La Liga.

Almeria are yet to win in La Liga this season but weren’t far off taking a point against the champions before Sergi Roberto scored late on to secure a 3-2 victory.

Here’s what Xavi made of it all:

“We suffered much more than I expected,” he told reporters.

“We had 30 shots and gifted them two goals. The first half is unacceptable. As a coach you can’t accept that — I told [the players] that at half-time.

“It’s as simple as that. The second half is better, but we missed a lot [of chances] and made a lot of mistakes. It’s been like this for over a month.

“The team lacked spirit. The team doesn’t have that same spirit it had last season. There’s no aggression or focus. We need more rhythm and intensity.

“Like I said, unacceptable. You cannot lack spirit. You can play well, badly, win or lose, it doesn’t matter, but you have to give everything out of respect for the club and the badge.

“We didn’t win [trophies] last year because of individual quality. We won them because we were a group, a family. We were aggressive, we defended together and we attacked well.

“The reality is if we don’t give everything, it won’t be enough against whoever we are playing. I see a lack of hunger, but that is my responsibility and it won’t happen again.”

Barcelona return to action in La Liga on January 4. The team then play a Copa del Rey clash against fourth-tie Barbastro before heading off for the Spanish Super Cup.

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