In a three-match winless run, Barcelona are in poor form currently, and were also held to a 1-1 draw by Valencia on Sunday. Xavi Hernandez’ men took a 1-0 lead via Joao Felix in the 55th-minute, and thought they would bounce back to winning ways. But then Hugo Guillamon equalised in the 70th-minute.
It was another match for Barcelona and another one filled with missed opportunities. They created plenty of chances, but failed to convert them, something which has been reminiscent of their entire campaign.
Speaking after the draw vs Valencia, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez said, “We deserved to win, we did everything. What happened over the past weeks with regard to effectiveness was repeated.”
“This match pretty much summarises the season for us. We train finishing but it depends on the players’ confidence. We have to be one of the teams with the worst finishing in Europe. I am very frustrated today,” he further added.
Barcelona registered 16 shots at the Mestalla, and got eight on target, compared to four of their opponent’s 11 chances. Barcelona have bagged 58 attempts in their previous three matches, 22 have been on target, but have resulted in only five goals.
Sending a message to his players, Xavi said, “We need to demand more from ourselves” he told the press after the final whistle. “We are not effective enough. Whether it’s the final pass, our shooting… today things went really badly because we got into very clear positions to finish off the game. We aren’t performing to the required level and we need to be more self-critical.”
“But that doesn’t mean that I don’t still have the utmost confidence in my players. The thing is that they are lacking the confidence to score those goals when we need them. We got so many things right that should have won the game, and it’s so frustrating,” he added.
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