The Europa League quarter-final is finely poised after Ferran Torres canceled out Ansgar Knauff's opener in the first leg in Frankfurt and the winner at Camp Nou will go through to the final four.
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Xavi Hernandez said Barcelona “are obliged to play and win well” while speaking to the media ahead of the second leg of the Europa League quarter-final clash against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday. The first leg tie last week ended 1-1 and therefore the winner of the second leg at Camp Nou will go through to the semifinals of the competition. At Deutsche Bank Park, Barca struggled to cope with the German side’s intense physical game and went behind courtesy of Ansgar Knauff’s brilliant long-range strike.
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But the Catalan club fought their way back to equalise after a well-worked team move which was finished off by Ferran Torres. Xavi took charge of the team in November and since then he has been doing a fantastic job, having taken them to second spot in the La Liga standings. The Spanish coach has warned his players that a scrappy win is never enough even if they make it to the final four.
“We are obliged to win and play well,” the Barcelona coach said in a news conference on Wednesday. “This is Barca. A 1-0 in the 90th minute is not enough, we know this.”
Torres’ equaliser against Frankfurt was a perfect example of how good this Barca team can be when it comes to playing beautiful football and opening up the opposition defence. Xavi would love to see more of those in the upcoming games.
“For those that know the club, it’s about excellence in everything we do. That’s why this is the most difficult club in the world. There is no comparison. There is no other club in the world like this, [with that] demand to win playing well. It is very difficult.”
Barcelona are going through an impressive run of form having not tasted defeat in their last 15 games and haven’t conceded a goal in their last four domestic games at home.
Xavi added that Barca must “improve” in many areas from last week’s first leg and “not give away as many unnecessary balls,” but said he was grateful the game would be played on the Camp Nou pitch having been critical of the playing surface in Frankfurt.
The winner of Thursday’s match will meet either West Ham United or Lyon in the semi-finals later this month.
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