Archie on Xavi: "He's a joy, a pleasure to play with"

Archie Gray was full of praise for Xavi Simons after another impressive display as we toppled Eintracht Frankfurt to book a place in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

In a fine team performance, Xavi pulled the strings in the forward areas, always wanting the ball, always involved, always looking for key passes between the lines against the Bundesliga side on Wednesday evening.

The Dutch playmaker had a goal disallowed after two minutes at Deutsche Bank Park, set up Wilson Odobert's effort that hit the post, beat two players in the box only to be denied by Kaua Santos and continued to provide inspirational moments in the second half - a backheel to set up Pape's effort, also saved by Kaua Santos - as Randal Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke secured the 2-0 win.

Backing him up in central midfield, Pape Matar Sarr and Archie, who, as always, just went about his business with no fuss, such a vital cog in Thomas Frank's 3-4-3 system.

Speaking to us about Xavi at DB Park, Archie said: "He's a joy, we just see each other and you know, I trust everyone so much, but when I give the ball to him, I know he'll trust me back just as much.

"We try to get those link-ups, one-touch, two-touch passes. He's a pleasure to play with getting in those spaces, so difficult to pick up and for centre-backs to try and track him. It must be horrible for them!"

An absolute football fan through and through, from footballing royalty, the Gray family in Leeds, Archie's sheer delight at playing on European football's biggest stage is almost tangible - not least being part of a team finishing fourth in the league phase.

"I mean, it's a kid's dream," he said. "I was just saying to Dom, we've just seen the table, finishing top four in the Champions League, we'll never take that for granted. 
You see the teams in the Champions League, it's the best of the best and that's where we want to be. It was unbelievable tonight - now let's carry it into the Premier League."