MY ACCOUNT
Xavi believes Sunday’s Catalan derby with Espanyol will act as a “litmus test” to determine just how much Barcelona have improved.
Barca produced arguably their finest display yet since Xavi replaced Ronald Koeman three months ago in last week’s 4-2 win against Atletico Madrid.
That followed a 1-0 win over Granada, meaning the Blaugrana have won back-to-back LaLiga games for just the second time this season ahead of their trip to Espanyol.
However, not since a run of six between February and April last year have they won three games on the spin in the Spanish top flight.
Barcelona make the short trip to RCDE Stadium back in the top four and now full of confidence on the back of a successful January transfer window.
But Xavi insists his side have not fully turned a corner yet, with wins in successive away games against Espanyol and Valencia the target to keep their momentum going.
“Sunday’s match is another final for us,” he said at a pre-match news conference. “It’s a litmus test and it will be a very difficult game, very intense. They will want revenge.
“We’re not ruling out any targets. Being 15 points behind the leaders, with a match in hand, shows how difficult it can be. It is difficult but we do not rule anything out.
“The next few games will tell. We need several wins in a row and have to be consistent, while hoping those in front of us falter. We’re fourth and we want to climb further.”
Memphis Depay’s penalty early in the second half gave Barcelona a 1-0 win over Espanyol in Xavi’s first game in charge on November 20.
Barca have now gone 23 LaLiga games without defeat against their city rivals and could record the best unbeaten run by any team in any type of derby in the competition’s history.
That is a record they jointly hold with Real Madrid, who also went 23 matches without losing against Atletico Madrid between 2000 and 2013.
The Blaugrana have also not lost any of their past 13 away games against Espanyol in LaLiga (W7 D6), including their 11 matches at RCDE Stadium.
But Xavi is taking nothing for granted against Espanyol, who are winless in four in the league and down in 13th place.
“Things have changed since the last meeting,” he said. “Tomorrow we face a tough and intense rival. This is one of the best Espanyol sides in recent years.
“It will be a similar game to the one at Camp Nou, but we’ve changed since then. We didn’t have time to prepare for that game, but now we have.
“We’ve got to consolidate the very good things we did against Atletico. We’re training well but everything depends on the results. We are on the right track.”
