Barcelona: Xavi: If Barcelona don’t beat Girona, it will be another disaster

Xavi Hernandez acknowledged that failing to beat Girona on Saturday will be a disaster for the Blaugrana in their bid to go all the way to the LaLiga Santander title.

The Catalan coach admitted that the pressure will be on his side, who currently sit top of the LaLiga Santander table, just three points ahead of title contenders Real Madrid.

“We have to beat Girona,” Xavi told the press conference prior the game.

“Here we win two or three days of tranquility vouchers. This is Barcelona. Until tomorrow, there is some tranquility, but not too much.

“This is the Barcelona environment. I know it very well. If we don’t win tomorrow, it will be a hecatomb. Let’s try to enjoy it until tomorrow.

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“Let’s try to win it because it will be a difficult match. [Girona coach] Michel has said that they have nothing to lose and we will go out with pressure on us because we want to win LaLiga Santander.”

Xavi has expressed his concern that Barcelona have not managed to put some of their last two games to bed early in order to grab comfortable wins and avoid suffering until the final whistle as they did in the Copa del Rey clash against Real Sociedad.

“I’m concerned because we don’t finish [our games] off,” he added.

“A lot of things need to be improved, but we have won [against La Real]. We are in a very good situation.

“We have to take into account how we were last year and how we are now. There are things to improve, obviously, but also positive things.

“We have improved a lot in defence. I think we are in a very good moment in terms of form and that should be valued”.

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Ousmane Dembele stood out with his performance against the Basque side and Xavi expressed his desire to keep him around at Barcelona for more years to come.

“For me he is important, you know that,” Xavi argued.

“He is fundamental, makes the difference for the team. It’s hard to find this type of player who is so decisive in one-on-one situations.

“The club knows it and he knows it. That has given him a confidence that has made him be at the level he is. I hope he stays with us for many years”.