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Xavi: Barcelona fully prepared to face Porto’s challenge

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Barcelona coach Xavi insists his side are “ready” for their first away Champions League game against Porto on Wednesday.

Barca won their first match of the tournament after running riot to beat Antwerp 5-0 thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski, Gavi, an own goal from Jelle Batilla and a brace from Joao Felix.

Xavi’s side will be looking to make it two wins from two with a win at the Stadio Dragao, which would put them in an early comfortable position to progress out of the group stage, something they failed to do in the competition last year.

Xavi knows the scale of the task facing his team, but believes they are ready for it.

He told Barca TV: “This is the Champions League. We are ready and excited for tomorrow’s game.

“We have a very difficult club in front of us at this stadium. It will be hard and really difficult because they are playing well, a good team with a good coach, very intense, but we are ready.

“We’re very excited and we’ll see tomorrow.”

Felix has made a bright start to life at Barcelona since joining on loan from Spanish rivals Atletico Madrid, scoring three goals in his first six appearances.

The striker will face a team from his native Portugal but insists “it’s just another game.”

He added: “It might be special because it’s a Portuguese team and there will be more family and friends in the stands, but it’s just another game we’re aiming to win.

“We want to move step by step towards the Champions League. Our goal is to get through the group and this is probably the toughest game in the group stage.”

Porto started their campaign with a 3-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk and have not faced Barcelona in the Champions League for 23 years.

Head coach Sergio Conceicao said: “Let’s go into the game thinking we can and should win. With certainty. The respect we have for our opponents should not make us fear anything.

“All teams have weaknesses that can be exploited. We have to be confident in defense and then exploit any weaknesses (in Barcelona) to win the game.”

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