A 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid was enough to ease some of the pressure on Xavi Hernandez, but it didn’t necessarily make an overwhelmingly positive statement on Barcelona’s current condition. Had it not been for the heroics of goalkeeper Inaki Pena, Atleti might have left Montjuic with all three points.
Barca have suffered a challenging period. Since losing El Clasico to Real Madrid on October 28, they have struggled badly for consistent form, losing to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and drawing against Rayo Vallecano. Performances have been even worse than the results suggest too.
Late goals against Real Sociedad, Alaves and Rayo have spared Barcelona even greater damage, but they have done little to mask the regression of the team on the pitch. This is Xavi’s second full season in charge of the Catalans. Many of their fans believe Barca should be closer to the finished article than they presently are.
Of course, injuries have been a factor in Barcelona’s recent struggles. Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Raphinha and Sergi Roberto have all missed portions of the season with Gavi and Marc-Andre ter Stegen the latest players to be added to the list of absences. This certainly hasn’t helped Xavi achieve consistency.
Even accounting for this, though, Barcelona have underperformed. They are struggling to create goalscoring chances which has been a problem for Lewandowski who has had to feed off scraps so far this season. Pedri has missed a number of matches through injury, but he has been a shadow of his former self when he has made it on the pitch.
Xavi’s appointment was meant to signify a return to the default for Barca. The former midfielder vowed to implement an adapted version of ‘Tiki-Taka’ for the modern game. He wanted Barcelona to play with the ball just as the legendary Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola teams of the past did. That was the plan.
While there have been signs of this over the past two seasons, Xavi has confused matters by favouring a more direct approach this term. Of course, this is something Guardiola has also done at Manchester City, but he has the players to make this approach work. Barcelona, however, don’t have those players.
The loan signings of Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix have helped with both players making an impact for Barca this season, but there’s a sense the Catalans are back to scrambling for short-term solutions. It’s difficult to look at how Barcelona are playing right now and think they are building something for the long-term.
This has led to suggestions that Xavi could lose his job. Wins over Porto and Atletico Madrid were much-needed, but Barcelona face another tricky test against high-flying Girona this weekend. Xavi doesn’t just need positive results, he needs performances that suggest the team is moving forward.
“We don’t have to ratify anything, Xavi is our coach, he has a contract and he recently renewed it,” said Barca sporting director Deco when asked about Xavi’s future. “And when a club renews its coach it is because it trusts him, there is no discussion. I understand that when we don’t play well and don’t win there is criticism, but that’s normal. This is football and we are used to it.
“It’s normal, we know that rumours are normal at Barça when they don’t play well. But we know what we want on a day-to-day basis, we know that we had to bring players back when we thought we had everyone, Gavi got injured. But this is football and the important thing is the day-to-day, how hard we work, how much we suffer in defeat and this is a team.”
Last season saw Xavi exceed expectations. Barcelona won the La Liga title for the first time in four years and looked to be on an upward trajectory. The Catalans entered the 2023/24 campaign expecting further progress. The foundations were in place and Xavi was tasked with building something on top.
That, so far, hasn’t happened. In fact, the foundations now seem rather shaky and the risk of everything crumbling to the ground appears very real. Xavi might have bought himself more time, but he still has to prove he’s the man to lead Barcelona back to the top of the European game.
