Xavi and FC Barcelona had to leave the Mestalla with only a single point last night. This draw can have significant implications for the Catalan club’s aspirations to defend their league title, as they are now six points behind the league leaders Girona, with the latter also having a game in hand.
Xavi’s men were unable to get a victory against Valencia, but there is nothing to indicate that the team played badly. In fact, the Catalans created several goal-scoring opportunities, but just could not finish their chances, and their opponents punished them for their wastefulness in the latter parts of the game.
As SPORT has reported, the Barcelona head coach himself rued the lack of effectiveness in front of goal as he spoke to the media after the match. In his press conference, he commented on this topic:
“The summary of the season is that we don’t close out games; we might be one of the worst teams in Europe in terms of effectiveness.”
Xavi had also asked for self-reflection on this lack of effectiveness in the mixed zone right after the full-time whistle:
“We need to demand more from ourselves. We lack a lot; we miss the final pass, clear situations to seal the deal. We have to be self-critical because we’re not performing at the level expected of us.”
The former midfielder was clearly unhappy with getting only a single point from this match, especially after his team created several clear chances throughout the game:
“I already said we needed to gather three points at a time. One point is insufficient, and upon reviewing the match, even more so because it’s a game we should have won comfortably. When you forgive, you end up being hit hard.”
Xavi also identified the main problem being faced by his players and was satisfied with his team’s approach in the game:
“The team does a lot to win games; we need to improve and be more inspired. It depends on confidence; we lack confidence to score goals, but I believe in the team. I’m positive and I believe that by playing like this, we’ll win many more games than we’ll draw.”
The Barcelona coach refrained from putting all the blame on the strikers, and shared that the team is frustrated after the draw: “It’s not solely the fault of the forwards; we’ve had chances of all sorts. The feeling is one of frustration; neither efficiency nor luck is on our side.”
