Spanish papers heap praise on Xavi for his 'agonising 1-0 win' over Espanyol

Spanish papers have praised Barcelona manager Xavi for his 'agonising 1-0 win' over Espanyol in their local derby on Saturday night.

The new manager secured his first victory at the helm of the Catalan side after Memphis Depay scored a controversial penalty in the second half of the game.

Depay went down inside the penalty area after receiving minimal contact from Diego Lopez. Nevertheless, referee Carlos del Cerro Grande pointed to the spot and the decision stood.

Despite the circumstances surrounding Barcelona's victory, the Spanish press were pleased with the team's performance under their new manager.

The Spanish press had piled on the pressure ahead of Xavi's first game in charge of Catalan giants on Saturday afternoon.

Marca said that the 'home fans were full of expectation' heading into the game and that a loss would deflate moral.

While AS called the fixture a 'High Profile Premiere' and Mundo Deportivo referred to the game as a 'testing clash'.

However, Xavi did not let the Barcelona fans down after securing three points against Espanyol.

Mundo Deportivo credited Xavi with 'pushing his side right until the end' as the visitors hit the post twice in dying minutes of the game.

AS also praised the Barcelona manager, Xavi, for putting his faith in the younger generation on Saturday.

He handed 17-year-old Ilias Akhomac his Barcelona debut during his first game in charge at the Nou Camp.

Although, the four pillars of Barca’s future will be 19-year-olds Ansu Fati and Nico Gonzalez, 17-year-old Gavi, and 18-year-old Pedri.

While it is a big ask for Fati to become the new Lionel Messi – even though he has already shown a similar gift for big goals at big moments – there is a hope that Gavi, Nico and Pedri can become the new Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta.

However, AS did criticise Barcelona for their need to 'waste time' at the end of the game to hang onto the victory.