Manchester United need no extra motivation to beat Barcelona in the Europa League play-off second leg. The Red Devils are showing signs of being an emerging force again, and beating one of the continent’s biggest teams will put United back on the map.
United also have a score to settle with Barcelona, and La Liga sides in general, who have been the kryptonite for the club in knockout games in recent seasons.
So more fool Barcelona for actually giving United even more motivation, with Xavi’s comments in his pre-match press conference, intentional or not.
Xavi disrespectfully referred to Bruno Fernandes as ‘the Portuguese guy’ in his pre-match press conference.
Xavi own goal
Xavi was actually paying United a compliment, praising the good work Erik ten Hag had done.
He was quoted by The Times: “Tactically he is very good and he handles the dressing room very well. He is getting all the talent out of his players.
“You see [Jadon] Sancho, [Marcus] Rashford, the Portuguese guy [Bruno Fernandes]. And look how Fred is playing…”
What was behind Xavi’s comments was unclear. It’s possible he simply had a moment where he forgot Fernandes’ name. Or it could have been a Spanish-Portuguese relations jibe between the two Iberian nations.
Whichever the case, Bruno Fernandes can use it as extra fuel to add to his own fire.
Fernandes is expected to captain United on the night, and can be relied upon to produce a display full of fight and technical quality. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him pop up with a Paul Scholes-esque winner.
If United were to win with a Fernandes goal, you can expect Fernandes and United to milk this. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the player, or club refer to him as ‘the Portuguese guy’, mocking Xavi in celebration on social media.
In the event he produces an iconic performance, it could be a display forever linked with the quotes. United would even stick ‘the Portuguese guy’ on a T-shirt and start selling it.
Xavi has given Fernandes and his teammates extra motivation to ram his words back at him, and remind the Barcelona boss exactly who he is, that he is a name who will haunt the manager and is unable to ever forget.
Time will tell, but Xavi may just have scored an own goal – or at least provided Fernandes with an assist for a match winner.
Competition/Round: 2022-23 UEFA Europa League, Playoff Knockouts, Second Leg
First leg result: Barcelona 2-2 Manchester United
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Pedri, Gavi, Ousmane Dembélé
Man United Outs & Doubts: Christian Eriksen, Anthony Martial, Donny van de Beek (out), Harry Maguire, Antony (doubt)
Date/Time: Thursday, February 23, 2023, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Friday)
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England
Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA)
VAR: Jérôme Brisard (FRA)
How to watch on TV: TUDN (USA), Not Available (Canada), BT Sport 2 (UK), SONY TEN 2 (India), SuperSport (Nigeria), Movistar Liga de Campeones (Spain),
How to watch online: Paramount+ (USA), BTSport.com (UK), Movistar+ (Spain),
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; De Jong, Busquets, Roberto; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Ferran
Man United (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martínez, Shaw; Casemiro, Sabitzer; Fernandes, Weghorst, Sancho; Rashford
