Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez hailed both Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix after seeing both players score in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Real Betis in La Liga.
It’s a great start to life with the Catalan giants for both summer signings, and Xavi says having the duo has raised the quality level in his squad.
“Both Joaos are really happy here and you can see that,” he said. “No one doubts their individual quality. You see them train and you see how good they are.
“Cancelo joins us after working with, for me, the best coach in the world and he interprets the game so well. He understands what we want.
“We worked on the positioning of the full-backs this week. We wanted to look for Cancelo in the middle and for Balde to stretch the pitch. We looked for that superiority in midfield. If we are more positional, we will attack better.
“Both Cancelo and Félix offer options that help improve the team. Physically, they are strong. They increase the quality in the squad. They are where they want to be.”
Xavi also praised Ferran Torres yet again after the Spain international maintained his improve form with another goal.
“Ferran deserves all the credit. He told me very clearly in the summer he wanted to stay and that in his head he only wanted to succeed at Barça,” he added.
“He is only 23, he still has a lot of room to improve and ambition. Hardly anyone believed in him and he has shown spectacular mental strength. I am delighted for him.
“He is a good kid. He always gives 100% no matter how much he plays. He has received a lot of criticism at Barça and he has shown incredible mental strength to flip the situation on its head.”
Barcelona now get back to work quickly with Antwerp the next visitors to Montjuic on Tuesday in the Champions League.
