Xavi thinks Barcelona lacked patience, calm and struggled with their game management against Manchester United. Barcelona took the lead during their Europa League playoff tie at Old Trafford on Thursday night thanks to Robert Lewandowski's converted penalty, but Erik ten Hag made multiple changes at half-time and United completed a comeback with goals from Fred and Antony.
After substituting Antony onto the pitch, Ten Hag relocated Bruno Fernandes to central attacking midfield, Jadon Sancho to the left wing and Marcus Rashford down the middle in the second half, which essentially won the game. ALSO READ: Man United player ratings as Fred and Antony brilliant Xavi, speaking after the match, praised United's intensity after the changes were made and he also explained what went wrong for Barcelona. "I think we played well at the start but lacked calm and patience," the Barcelona boss said at his press conference. "We started the second half really bad, we were dominating the game and controlling it, we needed more game management and we lost duels as well.
We could have been more intense, I think we've lost some duels there. "But I think in general, we lacked that little bit in our game and you saw the difference in the second half.
In the first half, I think we played very well. We can be proud of the way we've competed and shown our face against a really big side. "It's a shame because we had an excellent first half and now we just have to focus on the league and the cup.