Barcelona midfielder Xavi believes the Camp Nou atmosphere will play a key role in inspiring the Catalans to come from behind to beat Chelsea in their Champions League semi-final second leg today.
Barca went down 1-0 in last week’s first leg at Stamford Bridge but will be confident of securing the two-goal victory they need to progress, having scored 103 times at home in all competitions this season.
And with a place in May’s final at the Allianz Arena at stake, Xavi is confident Barca’s fans, and players, will rise to the occasion.
“We are playing for the chance to make the Champions League final, that says everything,’’ Xavi told the club’s official website.
“The fans are intelligent enough to know that we will be playing for so much on Tuesday and we really want them behind us, as they always have been on the big occasions to help us fight back.’’
Barcelona suffered a seemingly decisive blow in the Primera Division title race at the weekend, as Real Madrid won 2-1 at Camp Nou to open up a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga.
However, Xavi does not feel failure to retain the league championship will represent a wasted season – particularly with the Blaugrana still fighting for Champions League and Copa del Rey glory, to add to the Spanish Supercopa, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies they have already won in 2011-12.
“The league title might be lost, but we’ve got a cup final ahead, we’ve already won three titles and we can still reach the Champions League final,’’ Xavi said.
“Of the six competitions we were in this season, we still have the chance to come away with five – we are just missing the cup and the Champions League. We’ll keep fighting, because we know that it’s in our own hands to finish with a good season.’’
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