Napoli win one of best moments as Barca coach, says Xavi
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said beating Napoli to reach the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday was one of his finest moments in his post.
The Spanish champions won 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium to seal a 4-2 aggregate win against last year’s Serie A winners, returning to the last eight for the first time since 2020.
“There has been a lot of unfair criticism, (that we were) the joke of the Champions League, we had to play with that pressure,” Xavi told a news conference.
“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.”
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The coach said he would not change his mind about leaving at the end of the season, a decision he took in January. Since then the team have gone nine matches unbeaten.
Centre-back Pau Cubarsi, 17, was given the Player of the Match award and Xavi lavished praise on the young defender, key in recent weeks.
“He’s a very rational kid, he’s got a lot of brains, he’s patient, he’s very humble, he wants to improve,” said Xavi.
“His sudden emergence is wonderful for Barcelona and Spanish football — we’re looking at a top-level defender for years to come.”
Like Xavi, Cubarsi said this was a match to remember. “This has been one of the best days of my life,” Cubarsi told Movistar.