Barcelona boss Xavi shares what really impressed him about Tottenham last night

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Barcelona boss Xavi has shared two things which really impressed him about Tottenham Hotspur’s performance last night.

Spurs fell to a 4-2 defeat against the La Liga champions on Tuesday evening in what was their final pre-season game before the Premier League campaign gets underway.

Ange Postecoglou named a second-string side against Barcelona as he left a handful of key players behind.

Despite fielding what would be widely viewed as a weakened side, Spurs put in a spirited display against the La Liga giants.

Tottenham fell behind inside the opening three minutes as Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring. But a first-half brace from Oliver Skipp gave Spurs a lead heading into the break.

Spurs dominated for large parts of the game and could have added to their tally in the second half. Barca hit back with three late goals after Postecoglou introduced three youngsters Alfie Devine, Dane Scarlett and Djed Spence into the action.

But it’s fair to say that Spurs’ display left Barca boss Xavi impressed.

Xavi on Postecoglou’s Tottenham

Speaking to Barcelona’s official website, Xavi admitted that Tottenham got the better of his side at times last night.

The Spanish legend was particularly impressed with Tottenham’s ‘pace and intensity’ during the game. 

“We ended the game really well but I don’t think we played as well as we did against Real Madrid or AC Milan,” he said.

“We played against a good team, with plenty of pace and intensity and they had the better of us at times.”

Postecoglou will be encouraged by his side’s display in Spain last night, despite being on the wrong end of the result.

Tottenham left key players such as Harry Kane, Cristian Romero and James Maddison behind in North London after they played Shakhtar Donetsk just two days beforehand.

The likes of Yves Bissouma, Giovani Lo Celso, Ivan Perisic and Skipp impressed on the night.

Spurs fans will be delighted to see their team travelling to the likes of Barcelona and playing on the front foot once again. 

Tottenham have been a difficult side to watch over the past four years, but that looks set to change under Postecoglou.