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Barcelona fans were not happy with Xavi Hernandez's decision to start Marcos Alonso for their crucial UEFA Champions League home game against Inter Milan on Wednesday (October 12).
In the absence of Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo due to injuries, Xavi decided to start Gerard Pique and Eric Garcia at the heart of the defense. Sergi Roberto and Marcos Alonso took up the full-back spots.
Fans, however, were not happy with the Spanish tactician's decision to start the former Chelsea defender over an in-form Alejandro Balde. They claimed that the team's chances of losing are high with the defensive lineup that Xavi has selected. Many also opined that the 2010 World Cup winner is digging his own grave with his decisions.
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Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez emphasizes on the importance of the game against Inter Milan
Barcelona find themselves in a tough spot in their UEFA Champions League group after losing both of their last two games. Consecutive defeats to Bayern Munich and Inter Milan after a win against Viktoria Plzen saw Xavi Hernandez's team languishing in third place in Group C. They have three points on the board from three games.
Every game onwards is important to their chances of qualification for the next round of the tournament. While speaking to the media ahead of the game, Xavi said (via Barca Universal):
“We expect Inter to play very similar to how they played in Milan. They have a low block, but we have alternatives. We are ready, we have to look like the Barça of the last 20 minutes in Milan. It’s a final for us."
He further added about the clash at the Camp Nou:
“Tomorrow’s game is crucial, we haven’t done our homework and now we have a chance to pull ourselves together in the group. We’re in an uncomfortable situation but we’ll give it all.”
While speaking of his tactics for the upcoming game, Xavi said:
“We need to attack better. I think in the first half we didn’t understand the role of Marcos Alonso and Raphinha. We have to be more vertical, more aggressive.”
The former Blaugrana midfielder shared a message for the home fans, saying:
“Since I’ve been coach they’ve given us some good moments, Camp Nou has to be on fire tomorrow and we’re going to give our all to win the three points. We need the fans."
