Xavi gave a harsh reprimand to Barcelona veteran during half-time vs Villarreal – report

Barcelona came out with all three points from a tough assignment against Villarreal away at Estadio de la Ceramica, securing a 4-3 comeback win.

However, manager Xavi Hernandez was not entirely pleased with the performance and highlighted the defensive shortcomings on the nights as an issue during his press conference.

In particular, the full-backs on the night, Sergi Roberto and Marcos Alonso, were nowhere near the level required.

Xavi reprimanded Sergi Roberto at half-time

And now, Javi Miguel of AS is reporting that Roberto was on the receiving end of a harsh telling-off by manager Xavi at half-time.

It was the Barcelona captain’s first start of the new season and his performance was riddled with mistakes, something that did not please the manager.

After all, Roberto just could not mitigate the threat on his flank as Alfonso Pedraza and Alex Baena enjoyed a lot of space while the veteran was also guilty of not marking Juan Foyth for Villarreal’s goal in the first half.

Xavi, who had been watching on from the stands, as he served out his touchline ban, reprimanded his captain during half-time, the report states.

The Barcelona manager used a whiteboard to point out the mistakes that Roberto had made defensively, leaving Pedraza to exploit the flank on a regular basis.

The 31-year-old La Masia graduate’s performance did improve to an extent after the half-time break, although he did have some part to play in Villarreal’s third goal of the night as well.

Joao Cancelo can’t arrive too soon for Barcelona

If anything, Roberto’s display last night indicated that Barcelona need a new right-back as soon as possible.

A deal for Joao Cancelo is very much advanced and could be completed in the next few days and the Portuguese international’s arrival will come as a huge relief to Xavi & co.