Xavi talks Ferran Torres, Dembele after Napoli draw

Barcelona began their UEFA Europa League journey with a 1-1 comeback draw against Serie A title contenders at Camp Nou.

Having entered the knockout playoffs after finishing third in their Champions League group, the Catalans lacked the sharpness in front of goal in their first game in the secondary continental competition since 2003/04.

Piotr Zielinski put the visitors in front in the first period, but Ferran Torres pulled the Blaugrana back on level terms in the second half from the penalty spot.

However, the Spaniard was guilty of missing several gilt-edged chances to win it for the team in the latter stages, as Barça settled for a draw in the first leg.

Speaking after the game (h/t Barça TV), manager Xavi Hernandez defended the January signing, backing him to get better after squandering a series of chances on the night.

“Today we have missed a lot, but this is the way forward. Ferran is going to score goals, it’s a matter of giving him time and confidence,” he exclaimed.

Xavi also addressed the fact that Ousmane Dembele was jeered and whistled at by the fans again on Thursday. However, the manager insisted that the Frenchman will soon turn those whistles into cheers. “Dembélé is going to turn the whistles into applause,” he said.

Speaking of the game and the outcome, the Barcelona head coach stated: “We did not deserve this bad result. By the way this game was going, we should have won comfortably.”

Xavi also spoke about the moment leading up to Napoli’s goal when striker Victor Osimhen appeared to be in an offside position, but Zielinski’s effort was allowed to stand.

“The offside law is weird, but we can’t do anything about it. I am happy with the performance but not with the result,” he said.

Barcelona will travel to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium to clash with Napoli in the second leg next week and will hope to fare better than they did tonight.