Xavi Hernandez has taken his side to an 11-game winning streak in all competitions, matching Pep Guardiola’s best run as a Barcelona coach.
Barcelona continue to lead the Spanish league in victories and have widened the gap between them and Real Madrid in the title race this season.
On Sunday, Barcelona defeated Villarreal 1-0 to increase its winning streak to 11 games in all competitions and its advantage over second-place Madrid to 11 points.
Madrid, which defeated Al-Hilal on Saturday to win the Club World Cup, has played one game fewer than Barca.
“There is nothing decided yet, there is still a lot of league left,” Xavi, the Barcelona coach, remarked.
“But we are happy because we are on a great run, doing things well.”
In 21 league games this season, Barcelona has kept 16 clean sheets.
For Barcelona, whose most recent loss came on December 31 in a 1-1 tie at Espanyol in the league, Pedri scored in the 18th minute.
Villarreal, who is currently in seventh position and has just one victory in its past six games across all competitions, suffered its third consecutive defeat.
Elche, who was in last place and had no victories in the league, was the site of Barca most recent loss.
In addition to starting the game without injured striker Gerard Moreno, Villarreal also suffered a first-half knee injury to midfielder Francis Coquelin. The Frenchman needed to be stretchered off the field.
Due to injuries, Barcelona was playing without its captain Sergio Busquets and winger Ousmane Dembélé. Frenkie de Jong, a midfielder, and Raphinha, a forward, were substituted due to fitness scare.
A few days after the passing of his father, former Barcelona player Marcos Alonso, the defender Marcos Alonso made his debut off the bench.
What Xavi Thinks About Barca’s Recent Form
After his team defeated Villarreal on Sunday night, FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez criticized his team’s offense and claimed that Real Madrid’s huge points deficit over his squad at the top of La Liga is “not insurmountable.”
With a valiant 1-0 victory at the Estadio de la Ceramica, the Blaugrana increased the gap between themselves and their fiercest opponents to 11 points.
“Match of the Day” Pedri scored the game-winning goal in the 18th minute, but Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong also gave outstanding performances, and the team as a whole did well.
“I saw many pre-goal options which did not materialize,” he said. “The last pass was missing, the decision making . When you don’t do it, it’s always the same – you suffer until the end. But we took three vital points for the fight for the league”.
“We had more chances, that’s enough to score more goals. The team isn’t successful in shooting. We’re an attacking team, even if we win by the minimum [score],” he added later.
In the Europa League, Xavi mentioned that Manchester United will arrive for the first leg of the playoffs on Thursday 16 February, “almost at the best moment of the season”.
Xavi Hernandez v Pep Guardiola – First 25 Matches
Barcelona made history when Pep Guardiola took over as manager in 2008 and guided the team to success, and early signs suggest they’ve done it again with the selection of Xavi in November 2021.
With 11 straight victories in La Liga this season, Xavi has just matched Pep Guardiola’s record winning streak at Barcelona.
It is not absurd to think that Xavi might be better, as some fans hope.
Here is how his 25-game record compares to that of his former superiors during their inaugural campaign.
Pep Guardiola For Barcelona
Games: 25
Won: 19
Drawn: 3
Lost: 3
Goals for: 68
Goals against: 18
Points per game: 2.4
Win rate: 76%
Loss rate: 12%
Goals per game: 2.72
Goals against per game: 0.72
Xavi For Barcelona
Games: 25
Won: 14
Drawn: 7
Lost: 4
Goals for: 50
Goals against: 28
Points per game: 1.96
Win rate: 56%
Loss rate: 16%
Goals per game: 2
Goals against per game: 1.12
