MY ACCOUNT
Barcelona are not “throwing in the towel” in the LaLiga title race despite sitting 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid, according to Blaugrana president Joan Laporta.
Xavi’s Barca slipped to a 1-0 home defeat against relegation-threatened on Cadiz on Monday, a day after Madrid came from two goals down to win 3-2 at top-four contenders Sevilla.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Los Blancos still have Real Betis and Atletico Madrid to face in the final weeks of the season, but their 15-point lead looks to have secured the league title already.
However, Laporta is refusing to give up hope on an unlikely turnaround from Barca, who have a game in hand on the leaders.
“This holy week has been like the passion of Jesus Christ,” Laporta said at a news conference on Tuesday.
“Holy Thursday was a disappointment and we ended Easter Monday with another. We have to recover and strengthen. After yesterday’s setback, I’m not throwing in the towel.
“In football, anything can happen. I would have liked to speak today after beating Cadiz and talk about things I wanted, but if I did it would seem that I am going to be a victim.”
The Cadiz loss further compounded a miserable week for Barca, who were eliminated at the Europa League quarter-final stage by Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.
Laporta, who assured investigations are underway into how almost 25,000 Eintracht fans turned Camp Nou into somewhat of a home stadium for the Bundesliga side, believes Xavi “is looking for solutions”.
“We were improving and now we are at a standstill,” Laporta continued.
“In this final stretch of the league [season] we were doing well. We got a good result at the [Santiago] Bernabeu [4-0 win over Madrid] and now we’re struggling to win.
“It’s obvious. In the first leg against Eintracht we didn’t play a [good] game, and in the second leg we lost. Against Levante, we also struggled.
“Xavi is analysing what happened and looking for solutions. But we also have to take into account that injuries are not helping us. A player like Pedri, a starter and a standout player, has been injured.”
Barca will look to get back on track when they visit Real Sociedad on Thursday, and Laporta reiterated his belief in the Blaugrana.
“The situation is different from what we expected,” he added.
“But while there is life, there is hope. Mathematically, it is possible. We have to fight in the seven [upcoming] finals to try to get the best possible final result.
“We mustn’t throw in the towel, but it’s going to be difficult to win the league. We have to be aware that we have seven finals and we have to win them to be in the Champions League.”
