KEY POINTS
- Barcelona defeated Sevilla 3-0 in La Liga on Sunday
- It was Barcelona’s 10th straight win this season
- Gavi, Alba, and Raphinha scored for Barca
FC Barcelona boss Xavi Fernandez has made a bold statement after his side registers a 10th straight win in all competitions.
Barcelona went eight points clear at the top of 2022-23 La Liga with their latest 3-0 victory over Sevilla on Sunday. The Catalans have not won the Spanish top flight since the 2018-19 campaign. Out of their 20 league fixtures this season, Xavi and Co have secured 17 wins, two draws, and a loss, which came against Real Madrid in October 2022.
While Barcelona are in control of their league title race, they have also qualified for the knockout play-off round of the Europa League and semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, with Xavi admitting that the current Catalan side can win all the titles on offer in the ongoing season.
In a post-match interview Sunday, Xavi also said that his side is one of the candidates to win La Liga, but defending champions Real Madrid were still favorites to retain the title.
“I see ourselves as candidates to win the league, but the favorite is always the defending champion. It’s Madrid, and we can’t lower our intensity at any moment. They can beat anyone. This team has the capacity to win every title we’re competing for,” Xavi told reportedly said.
“But we can’t only say it, we have to show it. Words mean nothing. There have been crazy comebacks in La Liga before. We have to avoid that at all costs. I still don’t think we’re the favorites for La Liga. We’re only in February, and we have any tough matches upcoming. The euphoria is nice, but we have to be cautious,” the Barca boss added.
On Sunday, the first half at Camp Nou went goalless. Left-back Jordi Alba opened the scoring in the game with his 58th-minute strike. Later on, young Gavi and Raphinha netted for the hosts as they earned three crucial points. Barcelona’s victory came on the back of Real Madrid’s shocking 1-0 defeat at Mallorca.
However, Barcelona also suffered a major setback as they lost their skipper Sergio Busquets to injury on Sunday. He is set to miss at least three coming games, including Barcelona’s crucial meeting with Manchester United at home next week in Europa League.
Barcelona’s upcoming fixture is against Villarreal in La Liga on Sunday.
