‘Pressing is important’ – Raphinha makes demand to Barcelona after Alaves win

Raphinha showed Barcelona fans what they have been missing on Saturday as he put in a fine performance in the 3-1 win over Alaves.

The Brazilian bagged two assists as Barcelona returned to the top of the table and spoke about what he wants from his team-mates out on the pitch.

“I feel that I am being a little pushy, sometimes too much. But I think that pressing is important. I’m sure that on the pitch my teammates sometimes think that I talk too much,” he told the media.

“But I am going to demand from people that they can give much more. I take responsibility and in the dressing room we all hug each other to celebrate the victory.

“I always say that the best defence starts in attack. It’s the most important thing we can do to help the defense. I try to push to make the job easier. I try to press to take space away from the other team’s centre-backs and thus recover the ball more easily. It’s good that the team follows me in the pressure, but I do it without thinking. I just run to get the ball back.”

Raphinha also said that he doesn’t think Barca are playing at their best right now but is hopeful they can turn their form around.

“The manager felt we could do much more on the pitch, and we also know we can do much better. His feeling is that the team isn’t playing at its best, and I agree,” he added.

“We have to improve a lot, but even so, I think the most important thing today was to come away with the win. We have time to fix the things we’re doing wrong, and I’m sure we’ll get back to our best. We’ll win by playing well, but if there are games where we play badly, I don’t care; the important thing is to win.”