What Xavi has had to say about Barcelona midfielder Oriol Romeu

Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernández has moved to defend Oriol Romeu, on the back of another night to forget for the Spanish midfielder.

As part of the final round of Champions League group stage fixtures, the Catalan giants made the trip to Belgium, for a meeting with Royal Antwerp in midweek.

With his side having already booked their spot in the competition’s last 16, Xavi opted to rotate his starting XI, introducing the likes of Sergi Roberto, Ferran Torres, and the aforementioned Romeu.

The Blaugrana, as a whole, largely toiled on the night, on their way to a disappointing 3-2 defeat and Romeu has been singled out for particularly heavy criticism after the loss.

The summer arrival at the Camp Nou was caught in possession on a number of occasions in Antwerp, a central factor in Barcelona’s eventual loss.

This capped what has proven a concerning stretch of form on the part of the former Southampton man, amid mounting calls for Romeu to be moved on as soon as January.

Xavi was therefore drawn on the struggles of the 32-year-old, though, he was quick to jump to Romeu’s defence, adamant that he boasts the required ‘level’ to play for his side:

“We have to give confidence to Oriol Romeu,” Xavi began, as cited by Sport. “His season started well, but today was not Oriol’s night, like the whole team. But he has the level.”

Conor Laird | GSFN