Xavi complains about Getafe pitch: It's difficult, bad for the spectacle
The Barcelona coach was not impressed with the playing surface on Sunday
It is not the first time, nor will it be the last. Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández, although he knows that he will be criticised for it, has always defended that it is important that the pitch conditions encourage good football.
And the grass at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez was not good as Barça drew 0-0 with Grtafe on Sunday. It was obvious. Too high. And Xavi, logically, complained.
"The state of the grass has harmed us," he said. "Yesterday we trained with a dry pitch. I've been criticised a lot for (complaining about) the surface. Everyone saw it today. It's very difficult to play like that, it's bad for the spectacle. The ball gets stuck, it's bad even for Getafe. It's essential that it's in good conditions.
"It's not an excuse and we have to recover our sensations. We took a point that is not bad at all because of how uncomfortable we were."
The Barça coach urged his team to react because although the gap to Real Madrid is still 11 points, Barça have gone three games without scoring a goal and have racked up two consecutive draws in La Liga.
"I think we're having a good season in La Liga but we mustn't go to sleep," he added. "We have some very important games coming up."
Injuries
Two of the first two injured players, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, are due to return to the team shortly. The team's slump in play and results has come with their absence.
"I hope that next week we can get two or three players back. It's not an excuse, we have a good squad, I'm satisfied. From there, minimise injuries and get people back. We'll plan for next season and we'll see what went wrong this season," Xavi said.
As for Sergi Roberto, he explained that he felt a pinch in his hamstring and preferred to wait for tests before confirming whether or not the player may have picked up a serious injury.
