Xavi: 'Whatever happens in Milan, we have to compete'

FC Barcelona will go into their Champions League clash against Bayern Munich knowing whether they still have chance of qualifying for the last sixteen, or whether it's a lost cause. What happens between Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen in the game before is not in their hands. So how is the manager approaching a game with so much uncertainty attached?

Here are some of the highlights from Xavi's pre-game press conference:

Small hope

"It's not a miracle that we are asking for. There is still some small hope. There are always uncertainties when you are depending on other results. It's an uncomfortable situation. But we have to go out and play the game. These things happen in football. And why can't something happen tomorrow? It's not in our hands, but there is still a small hope."

"We should never lose that hope. It's a shame we didn't get points in Munich or Milan. This competition has been cruel to us. We can only wait and see what happens."

Got to go for it

"Whatever happens in Milan, we still have to play well and compete. We have to show that we are able to beat what we believe to be one of the strongest teams in the world. We have to show how good we are and that the game in Munich was just unfortunate."

"We need to get results based on our football. We know what we need to do to play well and to dominate games. We need to win this game to show that what happened in the Champions League was just an accident."

"We need to stay mentally strong. After we lost the Clásico it seemed disastrous, but we picked ourselves up again and have played well against two strong opponents. We need to keep showing that we are able to compete. The team has personality, they're united, there's a great atmosphere. We want to show that we can win things this season."

Defensive issues

"Sergi Roberto is a big loss. He was confident and finding form, scoring goals and giving assists. It's a pity he's injured but we have Bellerín as cover and Koundé can play in that position too."

"I have a lot of options at left back and am playing around with them with each game. Marcos Alonso is adapting well to playing in the middle, and Balde is looking confident and fit, and there's Jordi Alba too. They are all playing and playing well."

"Koundé wins balls, corrects situations, is quick with his back to the ball, is aggressive, he's a guarantee. An extraordinary defender. For his age, he's very mature. He is on top form and gives us a lot of security at the back."

Europa League

"We could be going to the Europa League. We have to accept the reality. We'll watch the Inter game tomorrow and if we can't quality, then it's the Europa League and we'll attack it like lions. We'll be in it to win it."