Barcelona fans are livid with Xavi Hernandez as he has decided to name Sergio Busquets in his starting XI for the La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid. While Busquets has been a legendary servant for the Catalan club, his form has been far from impressive in recent times. However, the midfielder still features as a regular for the team.
Xavi seemingly relies a lot on his former teammate. The veteran has made 18 appearances for the club this campaign, starting 16 of those games. Fans, however, were not impressed with his inclusion. Many opined that for the crucial clash against Atletico Madrid, Busquets was not the best option to be included in the starting lineup.
Others opined that the 34-year-old should be rested more, while few fans claimed the time for Busquets to leave the club had arrived. Marc-Andre ter Stegen starts in goal for the Blaugrana, while Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Alejandro Balde, and Andreas Christensen make up the rest of the rearguard.
Busquets will be accompanied by Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and Gavi in midfield. Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati have started in attack in Robert Lewandowski’s absence.
The Blaugrana are currently leading the race for the La Liga title and will go three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table if they manage to beat Atleti. Here are some of the best reactions from fans across Twitter after Sergio Busquets was named in Barcelona’s lineup to face Atletico Madrid.
@barcacentre Busquets in 2023 against Ateltico madrid. This guy can’t be beat
“The next match is the most important” – Xavi previews Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona clash
![FC Barcelona v RCD Espanyol - LaLiga Santander](https://www.ghanamma.com/sp/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/e9b6d-16732038167226-1920.jpg)
Ahead of the Catalan club’s crucial La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid, Xavi said (via MARCA):
“Every week is like this. The next match is the most important, It won’t decide anything, but Barcelona could make a statement. It’s a complicated ground and they are a rock defensively. “It will be hard for us to generate things and we have to be more effective than in the last two games. It’s not a transcendental match for the future of LaLiga.”
He added:
“I expect a very well-worked team. They normally use a 5-3-2 or a 4-4-2 [formation], they are a chameleon-like team. We have to be prepared for whatever Atletico throw at us. It’s going to cost us, but we have to make the most of the chances we get.”
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