FC Barcelona had to go through a shocking turn of events in January when Xavi Hernandez announced his decision to step down from his duties at the club even though there was one half of the season left and his team was still competing for two titles.
In several of his press conferences following that announcement, Xavi has tried to justify his decision by pointing to the improvement in the results that the team has experienced.
There is definitely some merit in these justifications from Xavi. Even though the improvement has not been as readily observable on the pitch, SPORT notes that there has been a significant improvement in results, as the Blaugranes have added 17 points from a possible 21 in La Liga since Xavi’s announcement.
During this time, Barcelona have registered five wins and two draws in La Liga, and also had a 1-1 draw against Napoli in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 in Italy. With the second leg scheduled to be played at Montjuic, Barcelona can be optimistic of their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals.
Although the Catalans have been unable to get wins against Granada and Athletic Club, with both games ending in draws, they still have performed well against some difficult teams to get wins against the likes of Osasuna, Alaves, Celta Vigo, Getafe, and Mallorca.
Furthermore, the team also looks to have recovered some of the defensive stability that was nowhere to be found during some stretches of this season. This is clear from the fact that the Catalans have kept a clean sheet in the last three of their league games. Ter Stegen’s return seems to be a decisive factor in this regard.
With this improvement in form, Barcelona can go on to compete for the league title, especially now that they have taken the second spot from Girona, although the latter can take this position back this matchday. They have also cut their deficit with Real Madrid to 5 points, but the Merengues also have a game in hand.