MY ACCOUNT
Barcelona boss Xavi looked to remain positive following a goalless draw with Getafe, as the club approach the end of an empty-handed season.
Barca lacked verve in the middle of the pitch without Pedri at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, creating nothing of substance despite having 71.3 per cent possession for the match.
The Blaugrana remain 12 points from Real Madrid, with both teams only managing a point this weekend, but the latter have the LaLiga title already wrapped up with a Champions League final awaiting.
Xavi wants to remain upbeat coming into the off-season, however, believing Barcelona have salvaged a season that could have finished much worse. Since his appointment, Barcelona have surged from mid-table to second place, which is where they will finish.
“As for the league, we were very far away, but the reality is that we have not been able to compete in other competitions. Now things have to be corrected, but it could have been worse,” Xavi said.
“If the economic situation is good, I’m optimistic, but we’ll wait. We have to plan now and we don’t have much time. We are already against the clock to plan and to decide things.”
Barca were knocked out of the Champions League’s group stage and the Copa del Rey’s last-16, opening with only four wins in their opening 11 league games before Xavi was announced to replace Ronald Koeman in November.
A 4-0 win over title winners Madrid in March was soured by their eventual elimination at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-final of the Europa League, confirming a trophy-less season.
Post-match on Sunday, despite Getafe generating a greater xG (0.43-0.22) with 28.7 per cent possession, Xavi tried to bring the result into context.
“The goal was to qualify for the Super Cup, to finish second, and we’ve covered that,” he said. “Just as we were in November, December, January, we can be happy. Not so much with this game, we were too tidy in the first half, we need to generate more.
“We have not achieved the main objective of winning titles, I would not have signed for it [when taking the job], but we have denied the blow of a disastrous season.”
