Barcelona’s manager, Xavi Hernandez, had the ultimate satisfaction on Tuesday as his team defied their critics and secured a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in four years. Barcelona’s impressive 3-1 victory against Napoli at home propelled them to a 4-2 aggregate victory in the last-16 tie. This achievement is especially noteworthy considering Barcelona’s recent struggles, as they failed to advance from the group stage in the past two seasons and were eliminated in the round of 16 in the 2020-21 campaign.
Despite their Champions League success, Barcelona currently sits in third place in LaLiga and trails the league leaders, Real Madrid, by eight points. Throughout the season, Barcelona has grappled with inconsistency, which prompted Xavi to announce in January that he would be departing the club at the end of the season.
“We have received unfair criticism,” Xavi told reporters. “There has been too much pressure on the players like ultimatums, life or death.
“I even read that we were the joke of the Champions League. And now what?”
Xavi had declared that the second leg of the last-16 tie was the most important game of Barcelona’s season.
“We had to be better than Napoli and we were, it’s a more than deserved qualification, it’s one of my best moments as Barcelona coach.
“We can be proud because we are one of the best eight teams in Europe.”
