FC Barcelona saw their winning streak in La Liga come to an end as they drew the last night’s match against Mallorca. Although Barcelona still sit atop the league table, Girona and Real Madrid will be playing tonight, and the results of their matches can see one of them move to the first position.
The draw was made even more disappointing than usual as Barcelona’s own mistakes led to the goals scored by Mallorca. Still, Fermin Lopez and Raphinha were able to draw the match for the Catalans and get a point, which can be important for the team in the league race.
Xavi on the draw against Mallorca
Xavi spoke to the media after the match, and Mundo Deportivo has highlighted his main comments regarding the match. Commenting on the draw, Xavi said:
“We fell behind due to our own mistake, and just when we were playing better, we made another mistake that had us trailing at halftime.”
“These are errors that shouldn’t happen, very clear mistakes. The first one was a misunderstanding in the goal, and the second one shouldn’t have occurred either. We conceded too much defensively, especially in the two goals, and we missed clear chances.”
Mallorca had a very defensive approach to the game, but Xavi was not ready to recognize this factor as one that had a decisive impact on the game:
“I believe we created opportunities; we scored three the other day. The issue is that we need to be more attentive, and we have to improve. It’s not about attacking against five defenders; it’s about being vigilant in defense. We generated chances to win the game, but we made errors.”
Yamal and Lopez
Lamine Yamal, only sixteen years old, has seen himself become an important part of Xavi’s squad and has featured in almost all the matches Barcelona has played this season. Xavi praised his performance in this match:
“He’s so young that we want to protect him. He’s a very young player who can contribute a lot, but we have to be cautious. He’s a standout player, but we need to take care of him. He’s too young to be overused. I understand that people want to see him play more, but we have to protect him. He can bring a lot to us this season.”
One of the decisive events in the latter stages of the match was when a Mallorca player appeared to foul Yamal in the box. The referee pointed to the spot after the foul, but his decision was overturned by VAR. On this incident, Xavi commented: “For me, it’s a penalty.”
Another youngster who is getting increasing minutes this season is Fermin Lopez, and he had a significant impact on this match as he scored the equalizing goal for Barcelona. Xavi praised this youngster as well:
“I liked Fermín; he’s a player with goals, arrival, and dynamism. He can be very valuable to us, and today, he scored a goal that gave us a point.”
Lastly, Xavi also identified offensive mistakes in addition to defensive ones that kept Barcelona from getting the full points from this match:
“I believe we had the game under control with the score at 2-2, with chances for Ferran and Joao… We need to improve compared to last season. Last year, there was a lot of generosity. It’s a shame because we lost two points due to these mistakes.”
