Xavi worried about Barcelona fatigue ahead of Manchester United clash
The FC Barcelona coach admits some players are fatigued and hopes it won’t be a deciding factor when they face the Red Devils at Old Trafford.
Barcelona keep recording victories in LaLiga, as they defeated Cádiz at Camp Nou thanks to Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski’s goals.
With their win over the Andalusian team, the hosts keep commanding the standings, eight points clear of Real Madrid and are now on an 18-game unbeaten run across all competitions.
While things in Spain seem to work perfectly well for Xavi Hernández’s men, in Europe the story is a bit different.
Barcelona were considered favorites going into the Europa League round of 32 first-leg clash against Manchester United, as the Catalan giants hadn’t lost a game since last October against Bayern Munich and the team had looked very consistent at home.
However, the ghosts of the past showed up when United drew and took the lead, probably being the team who showed the most superiority at Camp Nou since Bayern last won in the Champions League.
Barcelona dealing with injuries and fatigue
Barça ended up sharing the spoils with the Red Devils in a game where the English side missed quite a few clear chances to close the match.
The bad news for the Catalans is that besides losing Pedri through injury, Gavi won’t be able to play either at Old Trafford due to suspension.
With key player Ousmane Dembélé also out, Xavi is worried about fatigue, as many footballers have been playing lots of minutes and needed some rest. That’s the reason why the Terrassa native made some changes in the game against Cádiz.
“Frenkie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski played more minutes. I think they have been playing a lot of minutes, that’s why I made the changes”, he said after the match.
The other day Pedri was injured, and we can’t afford more injuries (..) Let’s prepare for Thursday’s game from tomorrow and see how tired they are”, Xavi added.
Barcelona, eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage against all odds, saw in the Europa League a chance to win a trophy that they have never won. Still, they will need a solid performance to progress to the next round.
