How Barcelona and boss Xavi Hernandez found perfect harmony ahead of Manchester United Europa League clash

Barcelona and manager Xavi Hernandez are thriving thanks to arriving at “a point of mutual understanding”, according to Eurosport Spain’s Felix Martin. Xavi, 43, returned to the club he made over 750 appearances for as a player in November 2021 as the managerial replacement for Ronald Koeman. Ad Despite an initially slow start and some teething issues, Xavi appears to have Barca on the right track.

Though they exited the Champions League in the group stage, they are top of La Liga, eleven points clear of holders and arch-rivals Real Madrid. Premier LeagueBeckham rejects Man Utd bidders’ approaches, Qatar to submit concrete offer – Paper RoundYESTERDAY AT 23:07 On top of that they hammered Real in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, and come into the Europa League play-off tie with Manchester United full of confidence. So what has clicked? What has gotten them playing so well? “I think Xavi and Barca have finally reached a point of mutual understanding where the team has finally understood what the coaching staff is asking of them.” Martin explains to us.

“Barca, as teams like Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid did in other years, seem to be at a stage in their play when they win their games almost automatically with low scores. “They are winning games a lot 1-0 or 2-1. In other years this was the calling card of Atletico Madrid and of course they could also find goals from corners or take clever fouls.

Or even consider the similar impact of Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid. «I think that in the case of Barca, the way Xavi plays is very favourable against the teams they face domestically in La Liga. “However perhaps not so much against teams from other leagues in European competitions where games can demand much more intensity