Barcelona boss Xavi insists his squad can cope with their growing injury list.

The Catalans visit Granada in LaLiga on Sunday boosted by back-to-back 1-0 wins over Sevilla and Porto.

Ferran Torres scored Barcelona’s Champions League winner in Portugal after replacing the injured Robert Lewandowski.

The Poland striker has joined Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Raphinha on the casualty list.

“We do have a rather small squad, but I would hardly say that we are plagued by injuries,” Xavi said at his pre-match press conference.

“We have players to compete. We hope to recover players in the upcoming games.

“Lewandowski is a big loss, he is our most differential player and a leader.

“But luckily the team has plenty of alternatives like Joao (Felix), Ferran and Fermin (Lopez) who knows what it is to play as a false nine.

“We already have plenty of cover in midfield and there is also new additions from the reserve team.”

Pau Victor and Marc Guiu have been called up for senior duty for the first time as Barcelona trail leaders Real Madrid by four points with a game in hand.

The international break also appears to have come at a good time to allow injured players the opportunity to get fit again.

Barcelona return to LaLiga action after the international break against Athletic Bilbao on October 22.

They then have a Champions League tie with Shakhtar Donetsk before playing Real Madrid at home in El Clasico.

Xavi said: “Pedri is almost ready, and so are Robert and Frenkie. The team is playing well and our confidence has been boosted by two hard-fought wins.”

Barcelona struggled to control possession against Porto, and Xavi added: “I always want 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the ball.

“We need to dominate the control both in attack and defence.

“We face a difficult opponent, the most physical in La Liga, an opponent that will play a direct game with great offensive potential.

“We have to control their direct football. It’ll be hard to beat Paco Lopez’s team.

“There are games in which we have been good and others, not so much.

“We have to take better care of the ball, but the attitude and effort are spectacular.

“In Porto, we ran the most this season, in kilometres. That says it all about attitude.

“But our formula is to stick to the Barca philosophy. We always play attacking football, whether we have three forwards or not. We never change our philosophy.”

Lionel Messi's World Cup success with Argentina should be enough to win him the upcoming Ballon d'Or, says former England striker Jermain Defoe.

Messi finally achieved World Cup glory with La Albiceleste in Qatar last year as Argentina beat France on penalties in the final to win international football's top prize for a third time and the first since 1986.

Messi won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player, finishing with seven goals and three assists from seven appearances, playing every single minute of Argentina's campaign to lead them to silverware.

Defoe believes Messi's talismanic displays in Qatar make him the rightful winner of the upcoming Ballon d'Or, having already claimed the coveted award seven times before, two more than any other player has managed.

Speaking to Stats Perform at the Legends of Football event, in aid of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy, Defoe said: "Messi won a World Cup, so it's difficult to see past that.

"I think what he's done for the game – him and [Cristiano] Ronaldo, and other players as well – but because he's won a World Cup, and not only winning the World Cup but the way he performed in the tournament.

"Because the pressure was on, and it's probably his last, so to do that, go out the way he has, in terms of World Cups – I think you just have to give it to him."

 

Messi's World Cup heroics cap glittering career

Many felt Messi needed to win the World Cup to confirm his place as the best football player of all time, and he responded with a magnificent campaign in Qatar before Argentina ultimately took the crown.

Messi scored twice in the final, finishing just one goal behind Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappe, who netted a hat-trick on the losing side as his side finished runners-up.

His extraordinary tournament saw him score in the group stage, round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final, the first player to ever achieve that feat at a World Cup, while his 26 appearances at the tournament is also a record, after he surpassed Lothar Matthaus.

Messi's goals made him the first ever South American player to score in both the World Cup and Champions League final, and he joined his idol Diego Maradona as the only two players to score five or more goals and create 20 or more chances in a single World Cup tournament.

 

The now-Inter Miami forward became the first player to win the Golden Ball at two World Cup editions, while his 26 goals for Argentina at major tournaments is the most of any South American player in history.

Whether all that will be enough for Messi to win the Ballon d'Or will be revealed on October 30 at a ceremony in Paris, with the likes of Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior expected to challenge.

Local lads Dan Burn and Sean Longstaff scored as Newcastle celebrated a rousing 4-1 win over French champions Paris St Germain on the Champions League’s return to Tyneside.

Miguel Almiron lit the touch paper for a memorable evening in front of more than 50,000 raucous supporters at St James’ Park by scoring Newcastle’s first goal in Europe’s premier club competition since Alan Shearer’s double at Inter Milan in March 2003.

Burn and Longstaff put the Group F tie beyond PSG before Fabian Schar smashed home a superb fourth to secure three points to go with the one with which they had returned from AC Milan a fortnight ago.

Lucas Hernandez gave PSG brief hope when he pulled one back but a star-studded line-up including Kylian Mbappe were kept largely subdued in the Magpies’ first home Champions League fixture in two decades.

In the so-called ‘group of death’, Eddie Howe’s side sit top after two games as Borussia Dortmund held Milan to a goalless draw at the Westfalenstadion.

Manchester City struck twice late on to continue the winning start to the defence of their crown with a hard-fought 3-1 success at RB Leipzig.

Julian Alvarez finally settled City’s nerves in the Group G encounter with a fine strike six minutes from time at the Red Bull Arena before fellow substitute Jeremy Doku wrapped up the win.

Phil Foden had opened the scoring midway through a first half the holders dominated but the hosts responded against the run of play through Lois Openda.

Osman Bukari’s strike two minutes from time helped Red Star Belgrade claim a point after a 2-2 draw against Young Boys.

The Serbian side went ahead through Cherif Ndiaye and although Filip Ugrinic’s strike and Cedric Itten’s penalty turned the tide, Bukari slotted home to secure a share of the spoils.

Substitute Ferran Torres snatched the only goal of the game as Barcelona extended their 100 per cent start in Group H with a hard-fought 1-0 win in Porto.

The hosts had most of the chances but were undone by a blunder from Romario Baro in first-half stoppage time which allowed Torres to go through and slide the ball past Diogo Costa.

It was not all plain sailing for the visitors, who had to survive a torrid late spell which culminated in Gavi being sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card.

Toby Alderweireld missed a last-gasp penalty as Royal Antwerp threw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.

The hosts were cruising as Arbnor Muja and Michel-Ange Balikwisha struck but Danylo Sikan scored either side of Yaroslav Rakitskiy levelling as Donetsk turned the match on its head.

Alderweireld had the opportunity to at least claim a point for Antwerp after Taras Stepanenko was adjudged to have handled in the area but the former Tottenham defender put his spot-kick wide.

Celtic’s 10-year wait for a Champions League win at Parkhead continued as Lazio scored at the death to secure a 2-1 Group E victory – just after the home side were denied a goal following a lengthy VAR check.

Kyogo Furuhashi’s effort was cancelled out by Matias Vecino before substitute Luis Palma fired home in the 81st minute after Daizen Maeda had attempted an overhead kick from Alistair Johnston’s cross, and the VAR officials decided he was offside.

There was a bigger blow to come when former Barcelona and Chelsea forward Pedro headed home from fellow substitute Matteo Guendouzi’s cross five minutes into stoppage time.

Alvaro Morata bagged a brace as Atletico Madrid twice came from a goal down to secure a 3-2 triumph over Feyenoord.

Mario Hermoso’s own goal and David Hancko nudged Feyenoord ahead twice but Morata and Antoine Griezmann made sure Atletico went in at the break level. Morata then struck shortly after the resumption to secure victory for Atletico.

Substitute Ferran Torres snatched the only goal of the game as Barcelona extended their 100 per cent start in Champions League Group H with a hard-fought 1-0 win in Porto.

The hosts had most of the chances but were undone by a blunder from Romario Baro in first-half injury time which allowed Torres to go through and slide the ball past Diogo Costa.

It was not all plain sailing for the visitors, who had to survive a torrid late spell which culminated in Gavi being sent off in injury time for a second yellow card.

On a history-making night for Barca, Xavi named Lamine Yamal in his line-up, making him the youngest starter in Champions League history at 16 years and 83 days old, beating the previous record held by Celestine Babayaro.

The teenager provided plenty of threat in the visitors’ front line, as did former Benfica star Joao Felix, who was given a tasty reception on his return to Portugal.

Baro should have done better with a Joao Mario cross in the seventh minute but failed to get his shot off in the box, then Pepe’s touch also let him down after being fed by the dangerous Mehdi Taremi.

Barca keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen comfortably gathered a tame effort from Stephen Eustaquio and it was not until the 23rd minute that the visitors fashioned a real chance when the ball fell to Felix on the edge of the box but he fired just over.

Robert Lewandowski’s night was ended by an apparent ankle injury on the half-hour mark and he was replaced by Torres, but it was still Porto who threatened with Wendell in particular posing problems down the left flank.

But Baro undid all Porto’s good work on the stroke of half-time, when his blunder allowed Ilkay Gundogan to intercept and he raced clear and fed Torres, who did the rest.

Barca came close to extending their lead early in the first half when Yamal poked a shot on the turn at Costa, then Felix almost sprang onto a Torres through-ball.

But the visitors were grateful to Jules Kounde on 54 minutes after the defender got a foot in to deny what looked like a certain equaliser after Pepe had been sent through on Ter Stegen.

As the game strayed beyond the hour mark, Taremi and Wendell had half-chances for the hosts, who also had a strong penalty claim rejected by VAR after Joao Cancelo appeared to handle in the box.

Porto continued to press and Taremi had the ball in the net in the 83rd from a sublime overhead kick but was ruled clearly offside.

In a torrid final few minutes Gavi was dismissed before Francisco Conceicao twice came close to an elusive equaliser.

Barcelona boss Xavi insists his side are “ready” for their first away game in the Champions League against Porto on Wednesday.

Barca were victorious in their opening game in the competition after they ran riot with a 5-0 win over Antwerp thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski, Gavi, Jelle Batille’s own goal and a Joao Felix double.

Xavi’s side will be looking to make it two wins from two with victory at the Estadio do Dragao which would put them in an early comfortable position of qualifying from the group stages, something they failed to do in the competition last year.

Xavi knows the size of the task in front of his team but thinks they are prepared for the challenge.

He told Barca TV: “This is the Champions League. We are ready and excited to play tomorrow.

“We have in front a very difficult club in this stadium. It will be tough and really difficult because they play well, a good team with a good coach, very intensive, but we are ready.

“We are really excited and let’s see tomorrow.”

Felix has enjoyed a bright start to life in Barcelona since making the loan switch from Spanish rivals Atletico Madrid, notching three goals in his first six matches.

The forward will come up against a team from his native Portugal but insists “it is just another game”.

He added: “It may be special because it is a Portuguese side and more family and friends will be in the stands, but this is just another game that we aim to win.

“We want to take the Champions League step by step. Our aim is to get through the group and this is probably the toughest game of the group stage.”

Porto opened their campaign with a 3-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk and have not faced Barcelona in the Champions League for 23 years.

Boss Sergio Conceicao said: “Let’s go into the game thinking that we can and should win. With confidence. The respect we have for our opponents doesn’t have to make us afraid of anything.

“All teams have weaknesses that can be exploited. We have to be solid in defence and then take advantage of any weaknesses (in Barcelona) to win the game.”

Barcelona forward Raphinha is facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury in Friday’s win over Sevilla, the LaLiga club have announced.

Raphinha pulled up after taking a shot at goal late in the first half and was seen holding his right hamstring as he signalled he needed to come off.

In a statement, Barcelona said: “Tests carried out on the first-team player Raphinha show that he has a hamstring injury in his right thigh. He is unavailable for selection and his recovery will dictate his return.”

The former Leeds player has featured in five league games and once in the Champions League so far this term, scoring two and registering three assists.

Although Barca put no timeframe on his return, reports in Spain suggest he faces up to a month out, which would see him miss the Champions League match against Porto and the LaLiga fixture away to Granada before the international break.

Barca then return to action against Athletic Bilbao on October 22 and face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League three days later.

Raphinha could then face a race to be back in time for El Clasico against Real Madrid on October 28.

Former Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos put through his own net to hand Barcelona a 1-0 win against Sevilla.

Xavi’s side looked set for a second LaLiga draw in succession following their midweek 2-2 clash at Mallorca before Ramos’ own goal with 14 minutes remaining.

The win takes Barcelona top of the table, one point ahead of Girona and two clear of Real Madrid, who travel to Girona on Saturday.

Following the draw at Mallorca on Tuesday, Xavi made four changes with Robert Lewandowski returning to the starting line-up. Jules Kounde partnered Andreas Christensen in defence, while 16-year-old Lamine Yamal was also handed a start.

For Sevilla, Ramos, 37, who returned to his boyhood club last month following 16 years at the Bernabeu and two seasons with Paris St Germain, was among five changes for his side’s trip to Barcelona’s temporary home at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium.

Sevilla arrived for Friday night’s fixture unbeaten in their last four outings and fresh from a 5-1 midweek demolition job of Almeria, but it was the hosts who enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges with Joao Felix involved.

First the Portuguese forward, on loan from Atletico Madrid, forced Orjan Nyland into a fine save following a low drive. And then midway through the opening period, Felix rattled the woodwork from six yards out after neat build-up play by Joao Cancelo.

Substitute Fermin Lopez then wasted a good chance just minutes before the interval when his shot from Yamal’s cross was straight at a thankful Nyland.

After the break, the chances continued to fall the way of the hosts, with Lewandowski’s close-range shot saved by the legs of Nyland on the hour mark before the impressive Yamal then dragged an effort wide. Moments later, Lewandowski’s shot was headed clear by Loic Bade.

Barcelona might have been wondering if it was going to be one of those nights but with 75 minutes gone, they were handed a lifeline.

Yamal’s header back across goal from Ferran Torres’ cross dropped into Ramos’ path and the ex-Real defender, who netted five times in 33 appearances against Barcelona, inadvertently scored past Nyland.

From there, a shell-shocked Sevilla never looked like getting back in the match as Barcelona saw out the game, including five additional minutes, to claim top spot in LaLiga.

Barcelona boss Xavi wants his side to defend better as they prepare for their LaLiga clash with Sevilla on Friday.

Barca are currently unbeaten in the league so far this term but have conceded four goals in their last two games, coming from behind to beat Celta Vigo 3-2 before a 2-2 draw with Mallorca.

Despite their recent defensive flaws, Xavi’s side have scored 18 goals, which is the joint most in the division alongside league leaders Girona.

The Barca boss acknowledged those differences but thinks his side have to improve at the back.

He said: “We might not be as brilliant in defence as we were last season.

“We need to improve our pressure after losing the ball, press higher up the pitch, concentrate a bit harder.

“But we have got better up front. We created six clear chances against Mallorca and I think that’s good baggage.”

The Catalan giants will face a Sevilla side who, after a tough start to the campaign, are starting to show their true colours and are currently unbeaten in three.

Xavi praised their opponents on Friday and has called on the home fans to be the 12th man.

He added: “Sevilla are the defending Europa League champions and a difficult team to play.

“They’re solid, they like to play down the wings and play a direct, vertical game. But we’re at home.

“We need the fans and the atmosphere at Montjuic to get back on the winning track.”

A win for Barcelona could take them top of the league temporarily before the top two, Girona and Real Madrid, face each other on Saturday.

Xavi is not surprised by how well current league leaders Girona are doing.

He continued: “It’s no surprise to me because they have been doing things well at that club for several years.”

LaLiga leaders Barcelona twice had to battle from behind as Fermin Lopez’s first goal for the club earned a hard-fought draw at Real Mallorca.

Xavi’s side have been the early pace-setters as they look to defend their league title but the visitors had to settle for a 2-2 draw at the Iberostar Stadium.

Vedat Muriqi and Abdon Prats goals had twice had the hosts in front but Raphinha cancelled out the opener before substitute Lopez struck to earn Barca a share of the spoils.

Two early goals set Sevilla on their way to an emphatic 5-1 home win over Almeria.

Youssef En-Nesyri headed home with seven minutes on the clock after Loic Bade had hit the woodwork and just a minute later the lead was doubled courtesy of a fine solo strike from Dodi Lukebakio.

Suso’s curling effort wrapped up the win before the interval with Erik Lamela adding a fourth before a Luis Suarez penalty reduced the arrears, only for Kike Salas to make it five in stoppage time.

In Italy, Juventus moved two points behind early leaders Inter Milan with a 1-0 win over a Lecce side who finished with 10 men.

Arkadiusz Milik’s close-range effort proved to be enough for Juve, who saw out the game to wrap up the win as the visitors had Mohamed Kaba sent off in injury time after picking up a second yellow card for simulation.

Meanwhile, Lille’s inconsistent start to the Ligue 1 season continued as they fell to a 2-1 home defeat to Reims.

Paulo Fonseca’s side have won just two of their six opening league games and early goals from Mohamed Daramy and Keito Nakamura saw them slip up once again despite Benjamin Andre’s second-half consolation.

Elsewhere, a much-changed Bayern Munich side made light work of third-tier Preussen Munster in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting put the Bundesliga giants ahead early on and they were out of sight by the break as Konrad Laimer and Frans Kratzig got in on the act.

The 4-0 win was wrapped up by a late Mathys Tel effort as Thomas Tuchel’s side advance with ease.

LaLiga leaders Barcelona twice had to battle from behind as Fermin Lopez’s first goal for the club earned a hard-fought draw at Real Mallorca.

Xavi’s side have been the early pacesetters as they look to defend their league title but the visitors had to settle for a 2-2 draw at the Iberostar Stadium.

Vedat Muriqi and Abdon Prats goals had twice had the hosts in front but Raphinha cancelled out the opener before substitute Lopez struck to earn Barca a share of the spoils.

Mallorca were all but presented with the opening goal with just eight minutes gone as Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen gifted possession to Antonio Sanchez, who teed up Muriqi to break the deadlock.

Raphinha’s third goal of the season – a fine long-range strike – levelled the scores, only for Abdon to score in first-half stoppage time.

With the visitors chasing the game once more, Joao Felix hit the woodwork as Xavi’s side continued to threaten.

Their second equaliser of the evening would come with 15 minutes left on the clock, Lopez scoring his first senior goal for Barcelona having come off the bench shortly after the hour.

Despite pulling level on two occasions, Barca could not find a breakthrough to seal all three points and could now fall below both Real Madrid and Girona, who are in action on Wednesday against Las Palmas and Villarreal, respectively.

Xavi believes his Barcelona contract extension reflects the faith the club has in his project as he prepares for Tuesday night’s LaLiga clash with Mallorca.

The Barca boss penned a contract extension until 2025 last week before overseeing a dramatic 3-2 win over Celta Vigo that made it five wins and one draw from their six league games this season.

Xavi believes his side did not play well on Saturday, when they scored three times in the last nine minutes to overturn a two-goal deficit, but credited his players for keeping themselves top of the table.

“We didn’t play well against Celta,” Xavi said.

“But we won and put ourselves top of the table and I got to extend my contract, which shows that the club has its faith in our project.”

Barca next travel to lowly Mallorca, who have won one of their opening six matches and lost 5-3 at Girona on Saturday, but Xavi expects a tough test.

“Mallorca is a difficult opponent,” he added.

“They have a lot to offer in defence and work very well for each other. They are physically very strong and have direct approach players like (Vedat) Muriqi and (Sergi) Darder and this won’t be an easy away trip against a team that wants to bounce back after such a big loss as the one to Girona.”

The Catalan giants have started their LaLiga title defence in style, having scored 16 times (joint most with Girona in the league), but Xavi admitted he still wants to improve in attacking areas.

He said: “We are competing well, and in general we’re playing good football. But I’d still like to see more mobility from my forwards and we need to attack spaces better.

“We can get so much more out of this attack, they need to work more on their positioning. But even though we had a bad game against Celta, we are on the right track.

“One of the best things about this squad is its versatility. We have different kinds of player for different positions. Players like Sergi Roberto, Gavi, Joao Cancelo, (Ilkay) Gundogan, Joao Felix, (Jules) Kounde and (Ronald) Araujo who can adapt so well.”

Joao Cancelo’s 89th-minute goal completed an amazing comeback by Barcelona as they scored three times in the final 10 minutes to beat Celta Vigo 3-2.

Rafael Benitez’s Celta put in an excellent display and looked home and hosed as they went 2-0 up after 76 minutes when Tasos Douvikas added to Jorgen Strand Larsen’s excellent first-half goal.

But they succumbed to an incredible late rally that no one saw coming as Robert Lewandowski scored twice in four minutes before former Manchester City defender Cancelo won it with one minute of normal time.

The comeback will paper over the cracks of what was a worrying display for Barca, who were cut open at will by a vibrant Celta side, but Xavi’s men go to the top of the table with the three points.

Benitez will be highly enthused by what he saw from his team, even if they are just one point above the drop zone.

They looked more like the team at the top of the table with an incisive first-half performance, which was rewarded with a 19th-minute lead.

Barca could not clear a corner properly and on the second phase Lucca De La Torre slipped in Larsen and the Norwegian produced a fine shot into the bottom corner with a finish his compatriot Erling Haaland would have been proud of.

They should have led 2-0 five minutes before the break but Marc-Andre Ter Stegen produced a one-handed save to deny Larsen. The rebound fell to Jonathan Bamba and he was primed to score until Oriol Romeu produced a fine block. The danger was still not over as the ball fell to De La Torre, but he blazed over with the goal at his mercy.

Celta thought they should have had a penalty early in the second half as their pace caused a constant threat on the break, but VAR ruled in the hosts’ favour.

There was no escape, though, in the 76th minute as the visitors got their deserved second, which at the time looked to have sealed the points.

They launched a quick counter-attack and Douvikas raced on to Iago Aspas’ perfect pass to convert with a bobbled finish.

But Barca showed, even playing away from the Nou Camp, they can have a fortress in Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys as they produced a fine three-goal salvo in eight minutes.

Lewandowski started things off when he latched on to Joao Felix’s ball and hooked home in off the crossbar.

Three minutes later it was all square as the Poland striker tucked home from Cancelo’s cross.

Cancelo then took stage to win it in the 89th minute when he arrived in the box to convert Gavi’s cross and seal a sixth succesive win in all competitions.

Barcelona have announced a contract extension for head coach Xavi – who insists he remains determined to see his side sustain their positive start to the new campaign.

Xavi’s new deal will keep the former Barca midfielder at the Nou Camp through until at least 2025.

“My renewal was settled days ago. We reached an agreement a few days ago,” Xavi told a press conference.

“I have already said that I am 10-out-of-10 here, I am happy.

Following the departure of Ronald Koeman, Xavi took over in November 2021 and last season won LaLiga by 10 points.

Former Al Sadd boss Xavi feels there is still more to come from his Barcelona team.

“We arrived at a difficult time, in an adverse situation,” he said.

“Seeing what we have now, we have worked very well in all areas, from the president, to the sporting section, to the staff. We are still turning the tables.

“It is a process of training and construction, but we are doing excellent work. This is the season of consolidation, of play and results.

“I feel supported, especially when at times last year things were not so good, and I feel grateful to the president for supporting me. We are in a good moment – but we cannot stop working.”

Defender Ronald Araujo has been passed fit for Saturday’s game, the Uruguay international having been sidelined for more than a month by a thigh problem. Inigo Martinez, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde are also available.

Celta Vigo have lost three of their first five LaLiga games, but Xavi is expecting a stern test.

“We will face a Celta team that has fewer points than they deserve,” he said.

“(Rafael) Benitez is a very experienced coach. It was difficult for us last year, and we hope to achieve victory, feeling good at home.”

Xavi added: “The most important thing is to open up the field and have alternatives. We need to exploit the spaces to overcome their five-man defence, but also attack from the inside.

“We need variations to unsettle their defensive structure.”

Celta manager Rafael Benitez knows the challenge ahead for his side does not get any easier this weekend as they look to get back on form.

“Barcelona are a team capable of attacking on the wings – they look for your back, they have interior passes,” said Benitez, who had tinkered between playing five at the back and a four-man defence.

“All that allows you to have clear ideas and have a lot of money to put them into practice.

Benitez told a press conference: “It will be difficult, for sure; but impossible? No. If we do things right, then we can make life difficult for anyone.

“Against Barcelona, ​​good is not enough, but very good (maybe) – you have to have Plan A, B and C.”

Barcelona head coach Xavi has revealed an agreement on his contract extension has now been reached and he remains determined to see his side sustain their positive start to the new campaign.

Xavi’s new deal is expected to keep him at the Nou Camp through until at least 2025.

“My renewal was settled days ago. We reached an agreement a few days ago and it will be announced shortly,” Xavi told a press conference.

“I have already said that I am 10-out-of-10 here, I am happy. We will inform you (with an official announcement), but it is done.”

Following the departure of Ronald Koeman, Xavi took over in November 2021 and last season won the LaLiga title by 10 points.

Former Al Sadd boss Xavi feels there is still more to come from his Barcelona team.

“We arrived at a difficult time, in an adverse situation,” he said.

“Seeing what we have now, we have worked very well in all areas, from the president, to the sporting section, to the staff. We are still turning the tables.

“It is a process of training and construction, but we are doing excellent work. This is the season of consolidation, of play and results.

“I feel supported, especially when at times last year things were not so good, and I feel grateful to the president for supporting me. We are in a good moment – but we cannot stop working.”

Defender Ronald Araujo has been passed fit for Saturday’s game, the Uruguay international having been sidelined for more than a month by a thigh problem. Inigo Martinez, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde are also available.

Celta Vigo have lost three of their first five LaLiga games, but Xavi is expecting a stern test.

“We will face a Celta team that has fewer points than they deserve,” he said.

“(Rafael) Benitez is a very experienced coach. It was difficult for us last year, and we hope to achieve victory, feeling good at home.”

Xavi added: “The most important thing is to open up the field and have alternatives. We need to exploit the spaces to overcome their five-man defence, but also attack from the inside.

“We need variations to unsettle their defensive structure.”

Celta manager Rafael Benitez knows the challenge ahead for his side does not get any easier this weekend as they look to get back on form.

“Barcelona are a team capable of attacking on the wings – they look for your back, they have interior passes,” said Benitez, who had tinkered between playing five at the back and a four-man defence.

“All that allows you to have clear ideas and have a lot of money to put them into practice.

Benitez told a press conference: “It will be difficult, for sure; but impossible? No. If we do things right, then we can make life difficult for anyone.

“Against Barcelona, ​​good is not enough, but very good (maybe) – you have to have Plan A, B and C.”

Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde is to sign a new five-year contract at the Nou Camp, the club have announced.

The new deal with the 19-year-old will contain a buy-out clause set at one billion euros (£865million).

The Spain international will formally sign the contract at a ceremony with president Joan Laporta on Thursday.

A club statement read: “FC Barcelona and the player Alejandro Balde have reached an agreement for a new contract which will take the player through to 30 June 2028.

“The buy out clause is set at 1bn euros.”

Balde, a product of the club’s youth set-up, has established himself as first-choice left-back with the LaLiga champions over the past year.

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