Xavi insists Barcelona ‘dominated’ the 1-1 draw with Napoli, he agrees with the penalty call and believes they should’ve ‘won by more than two clear goals.’
Piotr Zielinski had opened the scoring for the Partenopei at Camp Nou in the first leg of this Europa League play-off, cancelled out by a penalty when the Adama Traore cross grazed the fingertips of Juan Jesus.
“All we lacked was the finishing,” said the coach in his press conference.
Europa League | Barcelona 1-1 Napoli: Partenopei silence Camp Nou
“We moved the ball around well and had 20 scoring opportunities, seven of them really clear-cut. Considering the way we played, we deserved the victory, even by more than two clear goals.
“We are in the Europa League, it is not a friendly, so the result is insufficient, but I am happy with the performance.
“It’s a pity we didn’t transform our domination into more goals. The lads played a fluid style of football, we attacked to the end and tried in every way to score.”
Having said all that, there were real doubts over the penalty, as the Traore cross didn’t seem to change direction after it grazed a fingertip and the arm was in a fairly natural position.
“I don’t like the new rules,” added Xavi. “In my opinion, all handballs should be penalised. You can’t use your feet in basketball, so you can’t use your hands in football.
“As for the Napoli goal, the offside rule on interfering with play is absurd, but we accept those are the rules. What I would introduce is some way of timing the actual football played, so it would wipe out simulation and time-wasting.”
Ferran Torres converted the spot-kick, but he also wasted numerous chances to score from open play.
“I am very happy that he is playing for Barcelona and hope he will be here for a long time. We must have faith, I’m sure he will score many goals. The Barcelona jersey weighs more heavily than others, but he should know that he has our absolute trust.”
The away goals rule no longer applies in Europe this season, so the 1-1 home result isn’t as bad for Barcelona as it would’ve been.
“It’s a pity we aren’t going to Naples with at least a one-goal advantage, but the sensations are very positive. If we continue like this, we will win many games.”