Giráldez Dissects Barça’s Draw Against Levante: Calls for Team Reaction
Barcelona’s head coach, Jonatan Giráldez, known for his relentless pursuit of excellence even in the face of numerous scandalous victories, expressed frustration after the team’s draw against Levante (1-1) at the Johan Cruyff Stadium. Despite his discontent, Giráldez acknowledged a silver lining amid the disappointment.
“In situations where you don’t achieve your goal, it’s normal not to be happy. I’m a highly competitive person, and anything other than winning doesn’t satisfy me. On days when you’re not at your best, you need to be sharper. Yesterday, we fell short of our best version,” analyzed the coach.
However, he emphasized, “The most important thing now is the reaction. It will be a challenge. It’s crucial to see how we respond after this draw and demonstrate the team we are. It will be a stimulus for sure. Because it implies that we cannot settle, that we have to prepare each game at one hundred percent. These are wake-up calls that will help us.”
Analysis: “The Levante prioritized defending closer to their goal, giving us a bit more space on the wings. The feeling is that when we approached the finishing moment, we were not effective, partly because they defended well, especially in the box.”
“In the Supercopa, there was much more space behind the defensive line; today, they played with a back five. Against this, we tried to adjust our structure and created chances, but not as many as usual.”
Positive Outlook: “The overall feelings of the season are very positive. Notably, in the Supercopa, against the same opponent, we won 7-0. We knew they were a top team, and today’s result speaks volumes about the difficulty we face, how challenging it is to win consistently and compete at the highest level every day. However, we do our best to achieve it,” Giráldez added.
In conclusion, he said, “The figure of 79 victories at the Johan is incredible. In every match, we’ve maintained a high level, reflecting the excellent work done in recent years. The path is to continue like this, and we know we must return to victory. We have to do it on Sunday against Atlético.”
