Barcelona suffered a shocking 2-4 home defeat to Girona on December 11 in round 16 of La Liga (Spain). This was the Catalan team's second defeat since the start of the season (in La Liga), after losing at home to rivals Real Madrid (1-2) at the end of October. Barcelona also had 4 draws and 10 wins. This result puts them in 4th place with 34 points, 5 points behind Real Madrid (ranked 2nd) and 7 points behind Girona (ranked 1st).
Coach Xavi surprisingly admits Barcelona is still building the best squad
"Girona have shown that they are worthy of being at the top of the table. Coach Michel Sanchez's team is playing better and better. They are completely worthy opponents for us (including Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid) in the race for the La Liga championship this season.
"We are still a team in the process of building. We created 31 shots in the match against Girona, but were very ineffective and exposed many errors in defense that caused serious damage, including the goals conceded. If Barcelona had won, that would have been normal, but the defeat showed that we have too many problems to solve," said coach Xavi, in the press conference after Barcelona's painful loss to Girona (2-4).
"This is a heavy blow. Because we were determined to beat Girona to close the gap with the top group. Now, we are 7 points behind Girona and 5 points behind Real Madrid. The gap is huge, but I still believe in positivity. Last season, we also lost many matches, but won 2 championships including La Liga and the Super Cup (Spain). Therefore, Barcelona will continue to move forward, we need to improve our squad to have more balance in the lines", coach Xavi shared.
Barcelona (middle) played ineffectively against Girona
According to Diario AS : "The situation will not be easy for Barcelona with their current unstable form. They still have a big goal in the Champions League when they have reached the round of 16 and need to continue to go far. Meanwhile in La Liga, the sudden rise of Girona could cause the Catalan team to lose the chance to defend the championship, not to mention the two traditional rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid who have always maintained their strength in the race."
After losing to Girona, Barcelona have a match in midweek against Antwerp (Belgium) in the final round of the Champions League group stage and need to win to maintain their top position. At the weekend, Barcelona travel to Valencia in round 17 of La Liga.
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