Xavi plans to disable Rashford
Rashford is currently the best Man Utd player, scoring in 12 of the 15 games after the 2022 World Cup, including a header in the 80th minute against Leeds at Elland Road on February 12. In all competitions this season, Rashford has scored 21 goals in 34 matches, just one less than his best record in the 2019-2020 season.
Therefore, Xavi considers Rashford the most dangerous trigger for Man Utd and will appoint Ronald Araujo to closely follow the English striker in both Europa League play-off rounds.
According to AS, Barca coach expects Araujo to "reduce the space" that Rashford can exploit. The Uruguayan midfielder once performed a similar role when Barca defeated Real 3-1 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup on January 15. That day, Araujo was pushed to the right back and controlled Vinicius - Real's left winger - while Jules Kounde joined Andreas Christensen at centre-back.
Another part of Xavi's plan is to direct Raphinha to follow Luke Shaw closely, preventing any link between the England left-back and Rashford.
In the press conference before the first leg on February 15, Xavi admitted that Man Utd has a strong attack, but considers Rashford the biggest threat to Barca. He said: "Rashford is one of the most dangerous strikers in Europe. He is very strong, dribbling well in one-on-one situations and very strong on the counter-attack. But Man Utd is not only Rashford, and Barca must assess the strengths of Man Utd in transition situations, with Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Wout Weghorst."
According to Mundo Deportivo, in addition to planning to contain Rashford, Barca continues to maintain the pragmatic style that has been successful over the past time. This was evident in the match against Villarreal on February 12, when Barca won three points despite controlling the ball and finishing less. Specifically, Villarreal controlled the ball 54%, shot 11 times with two shots on target - compared to Barca's 6 and 4. However, the army under Xavi was more effective and won 1-0 thanks to Gavi's goal.
After the match, Villarreal coach Quique Setien admitted: "There is one thing that Barca has changed a lot, that is the style when not in possession of the ball. The statistics show that, Barca is the team that runs without the ball the most. It's a surprise, isn't it?"
Setien was appointed Barca coach to replace Ernesto Valverde in January 2020. He was at the helm for eight months and was sacked after a 2-8 loss to Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals. Setien has led Villarreal since October 2022, after Unai Emery arrived at English Premier League club Unai Emery.
Barca's pragmatic kick is also shown when they have seven 1-0 wins in just 21 matches in La Liga season 2022-2023, equaling the club's record in the tournament. Barca once achieved this achievement through 44 matches in the 1986-1987 season, through 42 matches in the 1995-1996 and 1996-1997 seasons.
Barca is in high form with a series of 16 unbeaten matches in all competitions. This is the best achievement of Xavi's coaching career, breaking a record of 15 matches unbeaten when he led Qatar Al Sadd club from January to April 2022. The last time Barca failed was a 0-3 defeat to Bayern at Camp Nou in the penultimate round of the Champions League group stage in October 2022. Since then, Xavi's teachers and students won 15 and only drew one match - a 1-1 draw with Espanyol in La Liga in December 2022.
