Xavi hails Barcelona’s ‘small advantage but big victory’ over PSG in Champions League
Barcelona coach Xavi was understandably thrilled after seeing his team beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 in France in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
The result gives the Catalans the advantage ahead of the second leg at Montjuic next week, and the Barcelona coach admitted it was a great night for his team.
“It’s a big win, of course, playing away in the Champions League means it’s big to win. We did really well, especially in defence, but tactically we did really well. The wingers helped us a lot,” he said.
“Cubarsí ‘jumped’ forward to mark or to squeeze whichever Paris player was in his zone. Pedri came on and helped us a lot. I’m very proud of the team. Christensen also came on and helped by scoring with the corner. We did so well!
“It was hard work, there’s still a game to go and Paris remain one of the best in Europe right now. It’s a credit to the academy that Cubarsí, at 17, and Lamine at 16, plus Fermin, who’s new in the first-team this season, were ready to play here. We are only at the halfway stage after this, it’s a small advantage but it’s a big victory. Now we need to recover well.”
Barcelona will hope to finish the job on Tuesday and secure a place in the semi-finals of the competition.
