Xavi was furious with Barcelona players at half-time vs Almeria, accused them of lacking spirit and ambition

Barcelona’s final game of this calendar year saw them put an end to their poor run of form, as they secured a 3-2 victory over Almeria.

It was far from an easy win for the Catalans, who were heading into half-time minutes after conceding an equaliser. This was after Raphinha had initially opened the scoring at the 33rd-minute mark.

Barcelona went on to stage an excellent performance in the second half, with Sergi Roberto scoring a late winner.

Xavi was angry at players at half-time

Xavi Hernandez, though, had every reason to be angry at Barcelona’s performance, especially in the first half.

According to Javi Miguel, the Barcelona coach was furious after the half-time whistle. Inside the dressing room, the Spaniard was cursing and kicking everything that came in his way.

Xavi was not the happiest man in the dressing room (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Barcelona, after all, had conceded an equaliser four minutes before the break, with Leo Baptistao scoring a goal.

Shortly after showing his anger at the performance, Xavi took out the blackboard, accusing the team of lacking any kind of spirit and ambition. He also used all kinds of insults at the players.

“I want you to run like pigs,” he told the players. “It can’t be like that! It cannot be so.“

Needless to say, Xavi’s strong reaction and urgency proved to be useful as Barcelona produced a relatively better performance in the second half. But even then, the team had its deficiencies and continued the trend of conceding goals unnecessarily.

Sergi Roberto pulled back Barça’s lead with a goal at the hour mark. But it was short-lived, as Almeria equalised again through Edgar Gonzalez in the 71st minute. Roberto, though, was on hand to secure a winner in the 83rd minute.

The road ahead

The three points could be crucial for Barcelona as they not only end the year on a positive note but also remain in the race for the league title, even though Girona and Real Madrid both have a…

Source link : https://barcauniversal.com/xavi-was-furious-with-barcelona-players-at-half-time-vs-almeria-accused-them-of-lacking-spirit-and-ambition/

Author : Connell Edgar-Jones

Publish date : 2023-12-21 18:56:14

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