Barcelona coach Xavi was pleased with their 4-2 win against Atletico Madrid.
However after the game, Xavi has asked Barcelona fans not to whistle Ousmane Dembele, which they did when his name was read out among the substitutes at Camp Nou on Sunday.
“The fans were 10 out of 10, the support was brilliant throughout the game. But I would like them to support Ousmane, too. I’d ask them to stop booing him,” said the caoch.
“It was a technical decision for him not to play. The idea was for him to play, but I decided to other things because of the red card and the way the game went. Circumstances led me down another path in the end.”
Adama Traore did start on the right and Xavi was impressed.
“He’s a really mature player. He knows when to dribble, when to wait… he chose his moments well. Physically, he’s an animal, a beast. He’s a pure winger and he will help us. He’s a great signing and it was a great debut. Adama can make the difference. He’s strong, a great dribbler and he also helps in defence.”
On Atleti coach Diego Simeone’s refusal to admit Barcelona were better in some moments of the game, Xavi was philosophical.
“He looks for something different, something which is the polar opposite of what we want. He understands football in another way. But that’s all it is, another way of seeing football, it’s not a fight or anything like that [between us]. He’s happy without the ball, I’m sweating if we don’t have it. But Atletico are a great rival, the reigning champions.
“He’s a great coach and I have an incredible amount of respect for him. But we don’t agree with what we want on the pitch. You could see that in the first half.”
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