Barcelona fans were unhappy to see Ansu Fati named on the bench for their La Liga clash against Atheltic Club on October 23.
Fati was on the scoresheet for the Blaugranas as they defeated Villarreal on October 21. However, Xavi has decided to put the youngster on the bench as the Spanish manager opted to start Ousmane Dembele and Robert Lewandowski as the recognized attackers.
Fati has scored three goals and provided three assists in 14 games for the Catalan club so far this season. Many fans believe he was needed for the important game against the Athletic Club. Others believe Xavi is resting the prodigy for the upcoming clash against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League.
Here are some of the best reactions across Twitter after Ansu Fati was benched for Barcelona:
Xavi’s side currently sit in second spot in the La Liga table with 25 points from ten games so far this campaign. Athletic, meanwhile, are sixth with 18 points.
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez says there is always pressure on his team
Barcelona have suffered a difficult few weeks after a solid start to their campaign. The Catalan club are on the brink of elimination from the UEFA Champions League after winning only one out of four group stage games so far. They also slid down to second spot in La Liga after a 3-1 away defeat against Real Madrid.
While sharing his take on the situation ahead of hiss team’ss clash against Athletic Bilbao, Xavi said (via MARCA):
“There is always pressure here, this is Barcelona, You have to be competitive and win. Tomorrow another great team arrives, they’re an intense and physical opponent but we have to win again tomorrow.”
The Catalan club returned to winning ways after their loss in El Clasico with a 3-0 win against Villarreal on October 21. Xavi was pleased with his team’s performance as he said:
“This team has competed against everyone, If we look at the other day and make an analysis, there is no such thing as perfection, but we’re looking to get closer. I’m very satisfied, we did very well against Villarreal, we took risks and won duels. It was a great game from the defenders, Villarreal had only one and a half chances.”
Xavi further went on to praise midfielder Frenkie de Jong’s qualities as a player, saying:
“Because of his potential I see him more as an inside player, although he is very good in defense, I like him and he has tremendous potential, he has to be important. I see that he is better when he is in front of the ball, we have to get him in those positions.”