Xavi Hernandez has emphasized that Barcelona’s recent performances have been hampered by criticism from the media.
Despite narrowly securing a victory against Deportivo Alaves in La Liga on Sunday, with Robert Lewandowski netting a brace, Barcelona’s overall display was unconvincing. They even found themselves trailing 1-0 early in the game due to a first-minute goal from Samuel Omorodion.
This performance adds to a string of lackluster outings, including a “totally unacceptable” 1-0 win against Real Sociedad, as noted by the manager, and a loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League midweek.
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Addressing the criticism after the Alaves win, Xavi was eager to highlight its adverse impact on the squad, especially on younger players:
“I have zero doubts that the criticism from the press is affecting the team. It happened to me as a player, and I can see it now.
“There’s a massive wave of negativity around the team that is harming us. The criticism does not affect me; it affects the players. I can see it in their faces.”
“Above all, it affects the younger ones. You see Inigo [Martinez], Lewandowski, [Joao] Cancelo, [Ilkay] Gundogan, and it doesn’t affect them. But there are a lot of young people, and we have to protect them,” Xavi acknowledged.
Xavi also conceded that the in-game mistakes made by his team are “generating insecurity among the players,” citing Gundogan’s errant play in the lead-up to Alaves’ opener as a specific example:
“Gundogan lost a ball he would not normally lose, and there is a transition. We can’t allow these mistakes. It is unacceptable.
“We are gifting teams too many things. We have dropped points at Mallorca, Granada…we are giving away too much, and it’s generating an insecurity among the players that is not good.”