Barcelona defender Jules
Kounde has urged the players to take responsibility for the team's poor form
this season.
The reigning La Liga champions have made an underwhelming defense of their title this season. While they sit just eight points off top spot, Barcelona's performances during games have fallen well short of expectations and they have relied on several one-goal victories.
More recently, Barcelona were
thumped 4-1 by Real Madrid in the Super Copa de Espana final, before surviving a
Copa del Rey scare against third-tier Unionistas, and that sort of form has
seen the pressure on manager Xavi ramped up.
Kounde, however, has urged
players to look in the mirror and address their poor showings on the pitch this
year.
"In the end, like the rest
of the team, you can't put everything down to one game," Kounde told Teledeporte after
the Unionistas game. "We have to look ahead and the most important thing
is to learn from our mistakes.
"We turned the page and we
have achieved the victory. It was a disappointment, but we have talked and we
have to look forward. Today was important and every game will be important. The
team is eager to turn the situation around, it is what this club requires.
[Club president Joan] Laporta encouraged us.
"Of course, in the end you
can talk about the coach but we are the ones who play, so when there are bad
results it is our fault of course. It's up to us. We had to react, this game
was important and we have to move forward with intensity. I think that is what
we need this year, and also to be more effective."
Barcelona sporting director Deco
has publicly stood by Xavi in the face of claims that he has lost the support
of the dressing room, while the boss himself has admitted he'll walk away from his job if he feels the mood towards
him turning.
The club's reward for beating
Unionistas was a meeting with Athletic Club and former Barcelona manager
Ernesto Valverde, who was asked whether Xavi's current struggles in Catalonia
remind him of his own departure in 2020.
"I don't remember all that,
I'm in another phase," Valverde responded.
Barcelona face a tricky trip to Real Betis on
Sunday before the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Athletic. Villarreal and
Osasuna are also on the schedule before the end of January
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