Xavi on Getafe draw: "The state of the pitch hurt us"

A subdued Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw at Getafe on Sunday, leaving them 11 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.

Xavi Hernandez, who coaches the Catalan side, spoke to the press after the match to express his feelings: "The state of the pitch hurt us. Yesterday, we trained with the dry field. It was very difficult to play on that, and it's bad for the show," he said.

"The ball gets stuck, it's bad even for Getafe. It's essential that it's in good condition. It's not an excuse, we weren't accurate, we made chances but we could not finish them," added the Spaniard.

Furthermore, Ter Stegen echoed Xavi's complaint that the low quality of the pitch played a part in the result, but said Barca could not hide behind it.

"Here you suffer, because the grass is high, the usual tricks, so it's hard, the clear chances you have - you have to put them away," Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen told 'DAZN'.

"It's a dry pitch, so it's difficult. We did things differently to normal, it's a point which isn't good but it's a point we're adding, obviously."

The coach said he was not worried about Barca not finding the net in three consecutive games across all competitions: "That can happen, and it's also been a while since we let in goals. It's a very tough place to go, Getafe have a lot at stake, when they sit deep it's very hard, they are organised at the back," added Xavi.

Moreover, the Spanish boss talked about Sergi Roberto's injury: "Sergi has noticed something in the hamstring. Let's see tomorrow. Hopefully it's only a short layoff, whether or not there is an injury."

 

April 16, 2023