Xavi hails Raphinha and defends Robert Lewandowski

Xavi was happy with the team’s 2-0 win over New York RB. He highlighted the performance of Raphinha and Dembele and defended Robert Lewandowski, who has not scored yet.

On the Brazilian winger, he said: “He’s a spectacular signing for Barca, not just for this season but for the coming years. He links well, crosses well, is good in front of goal, has set pieces and above all, he’s hungry. He’s a marvellous signing.”

On Dembele: “I don’t know what more to say about Ousmane. I like him as a player, I don’t see many others with his quality. Last year he gave us 13 assists and was the player who had the most in La Liga. That is making the difference. If he brings goals too…” 

On Lewandowski: “In training, he’s scoring goals. Yesterday we did finishing and they went in. It’s normal, he’s new, he wants to score. It happened to Luis Suarez and Ferran Torres last year. He will score goals, we’ve seen it through his career. But not just goals, he brings more too. He has to continue. I believe in him a lot and he knows it. It’s a question of time. I’m not worried, they’re just friendlies. The real business starts in two weeks, but he presses well, helps a lot, knows how to be the solution. I’m very happy to have him in the team.”