After the draw between Sevilla and Barcelona, Spanish media largely agree with Xavi Hernández’s reading. According to the coach of Barcelona, his team had earned more and the development in the field game is positive.
Barcelona fell behind Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on Tuesday and seemed to push through after the equalizer of Ronald Araújo and the red card for Sevilla defender Jules Koundé. Sevilla, however, held their ground and dragged the draw over the line. “Xavi needs a tipping point and that could have been Tuesday’s game,” wrote El Mundo Deportivo newspaper , which saw Barca dominate large parts of the game. ‘As a result, the team will still have a good feeling and gain some self-confidence.’
In terms of game, there is growth in Barcelona. For the first time this season, the club scored 23 goals in a league game. It is actually a miracle that there was no rain of goals. The big but is that the opponent again needed few chances to score. Barcelona continued to fight for the 1-2 in the second half, which ultimately did not fall. But it is clear that the team is developing.’
It is not common in the Spanish media, but Sport came with some nuance after the draw. “Xavi wants to bring Barca back to its glory days, but it will take time to make that happen. One has to be patient, very patient. The challenge is enormous. But after so many years of wandering aimlessly, Barcelona finally has a roadmap again. With that, they can return to the path they should never have stepped off of. It will be a long and complex journey.’
According to the newspaper, the sun will eventually shine again at the club. “We are going to see an explosion of talent with Gavi, Nico, Abde, Jutglà, Ansu Fati and Pedri. They are the basis of the new Barcelona. We are going to see how Camp Nou gets a new life and how good purchases are made. And then Barcelona will eventually become the best club in the world again. There will always be doubts, but Barcelona must stay on course, even in the midst of a storm.”
Frenkie
Sport was also lenient for Frenkie de Jong, who received a 5 for his performance against Sevilla. The Dutch midfielder has not been convincing at Barcelona for a long time. ‘You can’t say he played badly, but more can be expected from someone like Frenkie. His performance was somewhat flat. In the build-up he did his job, offensively he showed too little. A header in the first half was his only moment of danger.’
Mundo Deportivo was more outspoken and thought De Jong was bad. And that’s in line with his past performances. He was invisible and made no difference. In the attack he was not important. It was an accumulation of mistakes, although we have to praise his way of playing under pressure.’
