‘The whistles have turned into applause’: Xavi lends support to under-fire star after Barcelona’s draw with Napoli

Barcelona failed to convert chances on Thursday as the Spanish giants settled for a 1-1 draw against Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League knockout stage playoff. Napoli took the lead initially, courtesy a Piotr Zielinski goal that preceded the Italian club’s counter-attack.

The lead was quashed by Barcelona forward Ferran Torres, who equalised in the 59th minute from the penalty spot. The fresh trio comprising Torres Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang controlled the proceedings but the side missed several chances to clinch the game.

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Winger Ousmane Dembele was brought in the 65th minute and he put up an impressive performance despite being greeted with a chorus of boos. Dembele’s future with the club may look bleak but Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez is all praise for the 24-year-old, who has been on the receiving end of criticism from fans since his contract talks broke down.

Despite the draw, Xavi praised Dembele for changing the perceptions of fans with his performance. “The crowd didn’t listen to me. But in the end, it turned into applause. Now we have whistled him and that’s it. It’s over. The news is that the whistles have turned into applause,” he said after the game.

On his side’s performance against Napoli, Xavi said, “I’m sad because it makes me angry that (Barcelona) missed so many (chances) because it’s a game to, at least win. I think that the only thing that we lacked was to convert the chances. We were good in the high press. After going behind, we generated 20 chances and six or seven were very clear.”

“(It was) a complete game. The result should be a victory and, being fair, by at least a couple of goals. We played well, but we’re competing in the Europa League. This isn’t about feelings, it’s about results, and the game was excellent.”

Earlier, Xavi had urged fans not to jeer Dembele after the France international was greeted with boos on his return to the squad in Barcelona’s latest win over Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou. 

With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, the Catalans had asked Dembele to leave in the January transfer window. But the former Dortmund winger was unable to find another club, making him stay at Barcelona until the end of the ongoing season.

“The fans were 10 of 10 and the support was brilliant throughout the game. But I would like them to support Ousmane, too. I’d ask them to stop booing him,” Xavi had said.