Barcelona boss Xavi has insisted that he will continue to be patient with Ansu Fati, with the youngster only starting once for the club during the 2022-23 campaign.

The 19-year-old missed around nine months with a serious knee injury before returning to action last September, but he then suffered two further setbacks, struggling with hamstring issues.

Fati was used sparingly in the latter stages of last season, with Barcelona being cautious when it comes to the teenager, as they bid to avoid a repeat of previous problems.

The teenager has only started once for Barcelona this season, which came against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League last month.

All five of his La Liga appearances have come from the bench, but he has managed to provide two goals and two assists, and there have been claims that he could start against Elche on Saturday.

Xavi was asked about Fati during a press conference on Friday, and the club’s head coach said that the attacker was “gradually coming back” to full fitness.

“Ansu is fine. He’s a great player and he makes the difference when he comes on. It’s important to us. We may be expecting a little more intensity during the match, but he is gradually coming back, and he understands that is he coming out of a difficult situation,” Xavi told reporters.

“I will decide [about Ansu]. You have to be prudent. Last year, we were maybe too rash with the decision, and it was a problem.”

Fati has represented Barcelona on 65 occasions in all competitions, contributing 21 goals and eight assists in the process, while he has managed one goal in four caps for Spain.

The forward has been overlooked by La Roja boss Luis Enrique in his latest squad, though, with the youngster a notable absentee from the group of players that will face Switzerland and Portugal in the UEFA Nations League before the end of the month.

Xavi also said that the international break has come “at the right time” for the club, who will be looking to put three points on the board in La Liga before Sunday night’s Madrid derby.

“It comes at the right time for us. We have not stopped, we have travelled a lot. For the staff, it’s a timely break, because I think almost 90% of the players will go with their national teams,” he added.

“We have to win tomorrow, and then let’s see what happens. We have to be attentive, especially since it’s the Madrid derby. But what we have to do is win our game.

“We are expecting the same opponent we faced last season. Physically strong competitor. In terms of teamwork, they have a number of strengths. We only won thanks to a penalty from Memphis (Depay).”

Barcelona have been victorious in each of their last four La Liga matches, which has left them second in the table, two points behind leaders Real Madrid, but they will enter this game off the back of a 2-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images
With Gavi’s new contract signing earlier this week, Barcelona took another big step towards securing the long-term future of the young core of their team, having already tied down the likes of Pedri, Ansu Fati and Ronald Araujo to new deals over the past year.

Another La Masia graduate who will likely be a part of this core group of rising stars in the future is midfielder Nico Gonzalez.

The 20-year-old youngster made his first-team debut last season, much like Gavi, but was unable to impose himself as a regular member of the side. Nico’s minutes, especially in the second half of the last season, came very sporadically.

And following the arrival of Franck Kessie, Barça’s inability to move on Frenkie de Jong and the club’s initial decision to hold on to Miralem Pjanic meant that Nico left the club on loan to join Valencia in order to get regular minutes under his belt.

While he might not be a part of the current Barcelona squad, SPORT reports that manager Xavi Hernandez still very much counts on the 20-year-old midfielder for the future.

Nico, after all, is tied down to a long-term contract with the Blaugrana that runs until the summer of 2026. At 20, he has his entire career in front of him and Xavi plans to make him a part of his plans along with the aforementioned quartet to build a successful team for the future.

Since joining Valencia, the 20-year-old has played five times under Gennaro Gattuso, even finding the back of the net on one occasion. Had he stayed put at Spotify Camp Nou, minutes would have been hard to come by for the young midfielder.

So, the loan move made sense for him to continue developing. And a season-long experience of regular football at this level will make him a better player when he returns to Barcelona in 2023.

Barcelona club management, headed by Joan Laporta, is seeking to sign a high-caliber deal during the upcoming winter transfers, to support the team during the current season 2023/2022.

And the Spanish “El Chiringuito” program revealed that Barcelona wants to obtain the services of Marco Asensio, the Real Madrid winger, next summer.

Barcelona is among the most prominent clubs interested in Asensio’s services at the present time, and that the Catalan club will try to include him in the next summer Mercato.

Spanish reports said that Asensio became the penultimate player in coach Carlo Ancelotti’s list of Real Madrid’s attackers, as Asensio exploded angry at Ancelotti’s decision during the Meringue match and Real Mallorca, and threw the warm-up shirt and kicked the water bottle towards the bench.

The famous program indicated that Barcelona would make good use of this situation to enter the line of negotiations with Asensio, in preparation for contracting with him during the next summer transfer period.

The program confirmed that the coach of the Blaugrana club, Xavi Hernandez, asked the management of the Catalan team to sign the Real player if his contract with Real Madrid expires.

Marco Asensio has been linked with leaving Real Madrid this season due to the difficulty of obtaining many minutes this season.

It is reported that the 26-year-old’s contract with the Royal Club expires next summer, and the two parties have not agreed on the renewal yet.

Barcelona wants to take advantage of the lack of agreement between Real Madrid and Asensio to renew his contract, which will expire at the end of the current season, so that Barca can get the player’s services free of charge.

And the Spanish winger became outside the starting lineup of Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti for Real Madrid, who did not participate in the Royal team’s match against Real Mallorca in the Spanish League competitions.

The journalist explained that the Catalan club spoke with the environment surrounding the Spanish player, and they told him that Marco Asensio has serious offers and is thinking of leaving now more than ever.

The date of the next Barcelona match in the Spanish League

Barcelona’s first football team is preparing to face Elche in the sixth round of the Spanish League, on the evening of Saturday, the seventeenth of September.

The whistle of the match is scheduled to start at four o’clock Cairo local time

لا يمكن اعتبار الهزيمة أمام بايرن ميونيخ فشلاً لبرشلونة. لأنها تندرج ضمن ما هو متوقع ، فهي مباريات لا يمكن الفوز بها دائمًا ، وأكثر من ذلك ، بالنظر إلى أنها لعبت في ألمانيا. من الواضح أنه كان يمكن أن يكون مثالياً لأخذ النقاط الثلاث ، والتي تركت كل شيء عمليا على المسار الصحيح للتأهل لمراحل خروج المغلوب من دوري أبطال أوروبا ، لكن تشافي هيرنانديز تمكن من استخلاص نتائج إيجابية.

كانت لديهم فرص للتقدم على لوحة النتائج ، وفقط خطأان محددان تسبب في فوز رجال جوليان ناجيلسمان. كان الأداء الذي خلفه الأزولجرانا جيدًا ، واستطاعوا التنافس ضد فريق مرشح للفوز بجميع الألقاب. شيء واحد ، مواجهة بعضكما البعض بزي “رائع” ، وهو ما لم يقمن به منذ فترة طويلة.

من الواضح أن هناك العديد من الجوانب التي يجب تحسينها ، لكن في كامب نو يمكن أن يشعروا بالرضا ، ومن الواضح أن النصر كان من الممكن أن يذهب إلى كلا الجانبين. الفارق الوحيد هو أن البافاريين استغلوا الفرص المتاحة لهم ، وهو أمر لم يفعله رجال تشافي. وهكذا غادر مدرب السد السابق مستاءً للغاية ، خاصة مع أربعة لاعبين. من الواضح أن الأول كان روبرت ليفاندوفسكي.

لم يكن لديه أفضل أداء ، وغفر للمناسبات التي لا يغفرها عادة. في الشوط الثاني لم يشارك عملياً ، لكن رغم ذلك لا يمكن القول إنه لعب مباراة سيئة. إن الفضل الذي لا يزال يتمتع به البولندي لا يمكن إنكاره ، ولا يزال يمثل المرجع الهجومي لبرشلونة. لكن في المواجهة الكبيرة القادمة سيكون أكثر نجاحًا. كانت رافينها أكثر الأشخاص الذين أصيبوا بخيبة أمل ، والتي تركت بعض التفاصيل ، لكنها لم تكن نشطة للغاية. بالإضافة إلى ذلك ، فقد بعض الكرة في نصف ملعبه ، ولم يساعد جول كوندي في إيقاف إضافات ألفونسو ديفيز.

ولم يلعب عثمان ديمبيلي بشكل أفضل بكثير ، على الرغم من أنه تسبب في خطر بسبب سرعته ، لكنه لم يكن دقيقًا في الأمتار الأخيرة ، مستعجلاً في قراراته. أعطوه ركلة جزاء لم يشرها الحكم ، ومع ذلك ، لم يفعل أي شيء آخر يمكن تسليط الضوء عليه.

فيران توريس ، الصدع الذي خيب آمال تشافي أكثر من غيره

لم يحظى ليفاندوفسكي ولا رافينها ولا “البعوض” بأفضل يوم لهم ، الأمر الذي أثار انزعاج تشافي ، لكن هذا لا يعني أنهم بدأوا بداية رائعة للحملة. من ناحية أخرى ، بدأ فيران توريس بالفعل في القلق ، حيث كان لديه إعادة تأكيد جديدة في أليانز أرينا، حيث دخل كصدمة.

لقد لعب ما يزيد قليلاً عن نصف ساعة ، وكان متقلبًا للغاية ، وساهم بين القليل والشيء ، ولم يكن قادرًا على مساعدة برشلونة. لا يستطيع الاستقرار ، ويبدأ الصبر في النفاد مع فالنسيا …

Barcelona suffered their first defeat of the 2022/23 season as they were handed a 2-0 beating by German champions Bayern Munich in their Group C encounter of the UEFA Champions League.

Second-half strikes from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane condemned Barcelona to a defeat after they had missed a host of chances in the first period. The misses proved to be too costly for the Blaugrana, something that manager Xavi Hernandez acknowledged after the game.

“The difference between us and Bayern is that they don’t forgive in front of goal,” Xavi said.

While the Barcelona manager insisted that the result was not a fair reflection of the entire game, he accepted that the team cannot afford to miss chances at this level.

“The result is not a reflection of the entire match. But this is the Champions League. If you miss chances, you will end up paying that. We messed up. This defeat is a step backwards,” he said.

There was a controversial moment late in the first half when Ousmane Dembele appeared to have fouled by Alphonso Davies inside the Bayern box. However, no penalty was awarded by the referee and the VAR also did not intervene.

Talking about the incident, Xavi said: “I didn’t see the Dembélé foul, but everyone is telling me it was a penalty. Regardless, I don’t want to comment on referees.”

On the performances and the chances created, Xavi said: “We had 6 or 7 clear chances to score. The first half was ours. We did enough not only to draw, but we should have won. We should learn from our mistakes and keep working hard.”

On the goals that the team conceded, he added: “Our marking in the corner was very bad, and we should have fouled the runner in the play for the second goal. They stop the game and we don’t. That is what competing means.”

Further expressing his frustration over the result, Xavi said: “I’m mad because we should have won. We played a match to win. Lewandowski missed chances, Pedri got two, Raphinha from outside the box… this is disappointing and unfair.”

“Competing means winning corners, closing transitions, or having a chance in front of the goalkeeper and scoring it. I’m leaving angry. We had to win today. We have to be more effective in both of the areas,” the Barcelona legend added.

Xavi also added that this Barcelona team is still going through a rebuild while the opposition are already a well-established outfit. “You could say that Bayern already have a built team. We’re under construction, only at the beginning of our journey,” he said.

Expressing his disappointment at the nature of the goals conceded, he added: “You can’t be controlling a match then conceding from a corner kick. Or conceding a chance from the middle like the play for the 2-0. We have to learn from our mistakes.”

Further talking about the Dembele penalty incident, Xavi said: “I asked the ref during halftime to be honest and tell me if it was a penalty. He said it wasn’t.”

Following the defeat, Barcelona will look to bounce back to winning ways when they face Elche in La Liga on Saturday afternoon.

ESPN has recently released a video of a Q&A session with Bayern Munich superstar Thomas Muller, where the attacker was asked to choose between Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema.

Muller, who is set to play a crucial role for Bayern Munich in the upcoming Champions League encounter against Barcelona, favours Lewandowski despite the Pole’s move to Catalonia in the summer.

Lewandowski spent eight years playing with Muller at Bayern Munich. During his time at the club, he scored a total of 344 goals in all competitions, notably building a formidable attacking partnership with Muller that helped Bayern maintain their dominance in German football.

“Benzema or Lewandowski? I have to go for Lewandowski, but Benzema had a very good season, he’s a very good player,” Muller said when asked to choose between the two.

The Bayern Munich attacker was also asked to choose between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Only this time, he chose the latter, citing his poor record against Ronaldo in European competitions.

“Messi or Ronaldo? I’ll go for Ronaldo. Against Messi I have a good statistic, against Ronaldo not that good,” he added.

Thomas Muller’s comments come just a day before Bayern Munich’s highly-awaited Champions League encounter against Barcelona.

The German has not enjoyed the best of starts to the season, scoring only once in six Bundesliga matches. But his experience, creativity and intelligence could go a long way in helping Bayern Munich break down the new-look Barça backline.

His former teammate Lewandowski, meanwhile, has lit up La Liga and UCL this season, racking up nine goals in six matches. The Pole will be looking to continue his splendid run of form against his former club Bayern Munich tonight.

Barcelona boss Xavi has made no secret of his desire to bring the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner back to Camp Nou, feeling his ‘time at the club is not over’.

The Catalan club’s president, Joan Laporta, also spoke about his dream of re-signing Messi from Paris-Saint Germain in the summer, despite the club’s ongoing financial troubles.

Messi, arguably the greatest football player of all time, scored 672 goals in 778 games for Barcelona but ended his 21-year association with the La Liga giants when he opted to move to PSG in France last year.

During his time with Barcelona, Messi won the Spanish top-flight title 10 times, the Copa del Rey seven times and the Champions League four times.

‘I would like to think that Messi’s time at the club is not over, let alone the way it happened,’ Xavi said in July.

‘I think he deserves a second chance, or another chance, to show that he can leave the club well and that he has been the best player in history.

‘From next year we will talk about it. But the question is whether I would like it, the answer is yes.’

Barcelona president Laporta added: ‘I feel indebted to Leo Messi. I would like him to end his career in a Barca shirt, and be applauded at all the stadiums.

‘I feel partially responsible for how things ended, and I feel that this is a temporary end and that we will make this dream a reality. At least that is the dream.’

Messi’s current deal is due to expire in 2023, but PSG have recently indicated a desire to extend it for at least a further year until 2024.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano provided an update on the 35-year-old’s contract situation on Tuesday.

‘Leo Messi will not make any decision on his future in the next weeks or months,’ Romano said.

‘[He is] focused on Paris Saint-Germain and then World Cup, [and] nothing will be decided or planned before the World Cup [in November].

‘Despite PSG new deal plans and Barca interest, Leo will not proceed before 2023.’

Press reports confirmed that the management of Barcelona, ​​headed by Joan Laporta, is already working in full swing to prepare a plan for the next winter transfer season, through which the Catalan team will be able to prevent a recurrence of the Lionel Messi crisis.

The Argentine star bid farewell to the ranks of the Catalan team in 2021, and the reason for the departure of the Argentine flea is due to the economic crisis that Barcelona experienced, which caused the suspension of the process of renewing his contract, after which he moved to the ranks of the French club Paris Saint-Germain.

To prevent a recurrence of this crisis, which may push Barcelona to get rid of one of the main players in the team, and for fear of the rules of financial fair play, Barcelona is trying to organize its winter schedule, despite the Catalan team’s attempt to stay away from violating the rules, after they excluded both Ricky Puig and Miralem Pjanic and Martin Braithwaite, from the team at the end of the summer season, but the financial crisis is still affecting the club’s ranks.

Therefore, Barcelona will try to reduce the salaries of Frenkie de Jong, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba, and Memphis Depay, in order to get away from the idea of ​​​​violating the rules of financial fair play.

It is worth noting that Barcelona concluded many fiery deals during the last summer Mercato, and these deals are represented in the signing of Pablo Toure, Franck Kissier, Andreas Christensen and Rafinha, as well as the Catalan team’s ability to steal Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.

Barcelona also included Jules Conde, Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso, at the end of the summer season.

Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images
Ahead of their game against Bayern Munich tomorrow, Barcelona took on Cadiz on the weekend, with Xavi making a ton of changes to their first-choice starting lineup.

Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele, Pedri, Eric Garcia, and Jules Kounde were all rested, with Hector Bellerin being handed his debut, while Sergio Busquets returned to the XI.

Tomorrow, though, there is no scope to experiment. Xavi has to deploy the strongest possible lineup at the Allianz Arena. Luckily, he has every single player fit in his arsenal, and can choose to make whatever changes he wants according to the opposition.

Barça Universal takes the mantle to predict Barcelona’s starting lineup against Bayern Munich tomorrow.

Defence
With Sergi Roberto injured and Jules Kounde rested, Bellerin was awarded his debut on the weekend. The Spaniard was comfortable for the most part of the evening and did not particularly make any mistakes.

However, there is no scope of him retaining his place tomorrow. Jules Kounde should return to the starting lineup as the right-back. The Frenchman has done exceedingly well in that role this season, but will face his real test tomorrow, pitched against one of Serge Gnabry or Leroy Sane.

There is no argument about who starts, or should start, in central defence. Ronald Araujo is Barcelona’s best defender by far, and is expected to continue as the right centre-back, while the in-form Eric Garcia will likely partner him.

The left-back spot has been up for debate in the media, as Xavi sees all three of Alejandro Balde, Marcos Alonso, and Jordi Alba as capable starters. However, following his exceptional display against Cadiz, Balde is the only correct answer for us.

This back-four will have the responsibility to screen Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal, who has been in exceptional form through the 2022/23 season.

Midfield
Two of the three midfield spots in the team are rather straightforward. One of them is Pedri – fan-favourite, Golden Boy, teenage prodigy. The Spaniard is one of the most essential cogs at Barcelona and should get the nod in midfield.

Sergio Busquets has no backup, alternatives, or replacements in the current setup, and will, barring any surprises, be deployed as the lone pivot in a midfield three.

His recent meetings against Bayern have not fared well, with the likes of Thomas Muller, Leon Goretzka and Robert Lewandowski pressing him to hell and back. Tomorrow, however, he will have the support of a much stronger defence.

According to several reports, Xavi is yet to make a final call on the final piece of the midfield for tomorrow. He could, it’s understood, start Frenkie de Jong in midfield, and Gavi as the left-winger to give the team a composed setup.

Gavi deserves to start tomorrow. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
However, that will be taking away from Gavi‘s strengths in the middle of the park. As such, we expect the Spaniard to start over de Jong tomorrow.

Attack
Bayern have been far from impressive at the back, with the likes of Dayot Upamecano, Matthijs de Ligt, and Lucas Hernadez making silly errors. Barcelona must look to capitalise on this as well as they can, even if it means taking a big risk.

Robert Lewandowski will unquestionably be the man of the hour tomorrow, playing against his former team. All eyes will be on him as he prepares to start as the centre-forward in the attacking trident.

Apart from him, Ousmane Dembele‘s impact in the current team cannot be understated. The Frenchman has been one of the best wingers in the world in 2022 and should prove to be a menace for the Bavarians on the wing.

The last attacking spot is where the dilemma creeps back in again. Raphinha is evidently Xavi’s first choice in his strongest starting lineup, but Ansu Fati’s profile could be extremely important at the Allianz Arena.

That said, the teenager has looked a bit tame so far this season, and understandably so. Barcelona fans will have to wait for him to make an impact off the bench.

As mentioned, Frenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati will almost definitely get to grace the Allianz Arena pitch tomorrow. That is, of course, if they don’t start already.

One of Sergi Roberto or Hector Bellerin could get the nod off the bench, too, albeit in slightly varying conditions.

Franck Kessie has barely received any minutes this season, but his profile can be extremely useful in a game like this. The Ivorian adds defensive astuteness, athleticism, and a box threat to the team like no one else.

Marcos Alonso, Jordi Alba, and Ferran Torres, too, will likely be in the pick-and-roll. Their presence will, however, be dictated by the conditions of the game.