Xavi hails 'epic character and courage'

After just a few weeks, we've already had some memorable games at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, but this Saturday's 3-2 victory over Celta has to be the most magical yet. At least in terms of drama, for although Xavi Hernández was obviously delighted with the way his team delivered 3 points against all the odds, he also knows that they got a lot wrong. Indeed, they were truly "playing with fire" against a side that came very, very close to taking the first home points from the Barça account.

"It wasn't a good game" he insisted. "These are the kind of games you normally lose. We had to do something epic, to bring out the best of our winning spirit and show courage. That's something that's sometimes missing at this club."

Persistence pays off

The fans played a huge part in what happened, he says. "You're losing 2-0 at home but the fans kept cheering and had faith. And that's fantastic. Normally, you'd give up the game as lost and we have to fight against that. We don't want to generate a negative mood."

"Celta were brilliant at the back and their counter attack is lethal. They closed off our passing lines and we found it hard to find a gap. Celta were excellent."

"We tend to suffer when the intensity goes out of games. But you learn from your mistakes and have to keep going until the end. We need to show that we too have character, and we did that tonight."