Xavi addresses Araujo, Pedri injury concerns ahead of Napoli encounter

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The Catalan club will play in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage for the first time since 2021

FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez. — AFP

Barcelona manager Xavi reassured that neither Ronald Araujo nor Pedri sustained injuries during Sunday's La Liga encounter against Celta Vigo.

Araujo was substituted at halftime during their 2-1 victory, with Inigo Martinez coming on, while Pedri was replaced by Fermin Lopez in the 75th minute.

There were concerns over the duo's fitness ahead of next week's Champions League last-16 first leg against Napoli, but Xavi confirmed that neither player is sidelined with injuries.

"There were no injuries today. Neither Araujo nor Pedri are injured. They're fine," Xavi told reporters following the narrow success over Celta in Spain's top flight.

"Football is unfair in general. Celta made a great effort without any reward to show from it. However, if we didn't win today it would also be unfair. I really think we deserved the three points."

Despite Iago Aspas levelling the score after Robert Lewandowski's opener, the Polish's second goal secured victory for Barcelona late in the game.

"Today, we competed much better than we did against Granada. We played well, without suffering in defense, but we did not create enough chances. We did not do well in the final third," Xavi added.

"According to Big Data, we should be in 1st place considering the amount of chances we create on average. We got penalized by our defensive mistake yet again."

Xavi expressed confidence ahead of the Napoli clash, stating he has "good sensations" as Barcelona aims for a positive result to carry into the second leg of the last-16 tie.

"I have good sensations ahead of Wednesday's match. The teams's attitude was very good. This win is great for our confidence. We did more good things than bad things," the former midfielder added.

Although Xavi plans to step down as manager this summer, he remains focused on securing two trophies, and Barcelona's win over Celta brought them within seven points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.

In contrast, Napoli has struggled to replicate last season's success, currently positioned ninth in the Serie A table.

Despite Barcelona's challenges this season, they are optimistic about progressing through the two-legged tie against Napoli and securing a spot in the quarter-finals of the competition.

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