Barcelona manager Xavi said they have to know how to kill off games after the Catalan outfit secured a narrow, hard-fought win over Valencia in La Liga.
Barcelona took on Valencia in the Spanish top flight in their most recent fixture and registered a 1-0 win. The Catalan outfit had opportunities to double their advantage but never managed to.
Xavi was understandably not satisfied with Barcelona’s ability to kill off the game and expressed the same when speaking after their win over Valencia.
Xavi said that Barcelona’s lack of effectiveness in the final third forced them to suffer. Against Valencia, Barcelona had four shots on target, but could only convert one of them.
Barcelona’s lack of effectiveness in the final third forced the club to suffer says Xavi
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“We have to know how to kill games off,” Xavi said [via ESPN] Barcelona defeated Valencia. “We had a lot of chances to do so and we didn’t do it; then with the Araujo red card, we suffered at the end.
“These are games when we should be talking about a comfortable victory, but the lack of effectiveness in the final third forces us to suffer.”
Barcelona had a golden opportunity to double their lead in the 55th minute after they received a penalty. But Ferran Torres’ effort from the spot was saved.
Barcelona completed their match against Valencia with 10 men after Ronald Araujo saw a red card in the 59th minute of the match. However, despite being a man down, Barcelona managed to saw off the game to earn all three points from the fixture.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are now nine points clear at the top of the La Liga points table. The Catalan outfit now have 62 points from 24 matches in the Spanish top flight so far this season.
Real Madrid, who sit second in the La Liga table and are the defending champions, dropped points against Real Betis. Carlo Ancelotti’s men were held to a goalless draw by Real Betis in their most recent league fixture. That draw leaves Real Madrid further behind Barcelona in the race for the La Liga title.
Barcelona will take on Athletic Club in La Liga in their next match. The game between Barcelona and Athletic Club will kick off at 1:30 am Indian Standard Time on March 13.
