Xavi remains optimistic despite Barcelona's recent setbacks

Barcelona's head coach, Xavi, commented on the unexpected defeat of the Catalan team against Antwerp in the final match of the Champions League group stage. As a reminder, despite the 2-3 loss, the Blaugranas still secured the top spot in the group.

"Looking on the bright side, we achieved what we set out to do and finished top of our group. But we evidently don't feel good about tonight. We need to play a lot better than that if we are going to achieve big things. We got off to a bad start. Antwerp played really well and created a lot of counter attacks that we simply couldn't stop. They played well, very well, and we never felt comfortable."

"But there are a lot of months left and we are still playing for four different trophies. I'm positive, ready and hopeful. We need to get the right feelings back, but the targets haven't changed. They are the same as ever."

“We are sure that from Saturday we'll start getting good results again. I have every faith in this team. We are through to the last sixteen of the Champions League and we should remember where we are coming from and where we are now. We need to be self-critical and to get the feeling back, but we are still alive on all fronts.” - quotes coach Barcelona official web-site.

Earlier reports suggested that Barcelona might dismiss Xavi and replace him with Girona's manager Michel.