La Liga
Barcelona: Xavi’s four selections that lift them off the ground
Xavi made 25 appearances on the Barcelona bench in the derby with Real Madrid and Sportish records the huge contribution of the four January transfers.
Barcelona management were looking for the man who would lead them into the post-Messi era and for this role they chose their own child.
Xavi returned to Barcelona as a coach and took on an extremely difficult role at the age of 42. To build a team that will no longer rely on the Argentine’s inspiration and tremendous quality while facing the financial difficulties the club is going through.
In the derby with Real Madrid, Xavi made 25 appearances on the Barcelona bench and did so with vigor after the 4-0 win at the Bernabeu. Pique wrote on Twitter that the Blaugrana are back and the only certainty is that they are on the right track.
The 42-year-old coach has 14 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats, most recently from Bilbao on January 20. Since then he has recorded 9 wins and 3 draws in all competitions.
The Nine of Trust
A first conclusion that can be drawn is that Xavi is trying to get the best out of all his players as he has fielded 32 players in 25 games.
There are nine of them who have played in more than 20 games and consist of them Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Frankie de Jong, Nico Gonzalez, Jordi Alba, Ronald Araύjo, Gavi and Usman Dembele.
From there, there are players who were either added to the squad in January or are regular members of the 42-year-old manager’s rotation.
Takes solutions from transfers
We have to draw particular attention to the January transfers. In fact, the Catalans made four moves, bringing Obamayang, Torres, Traore and Alves to Barcelona.
Xavi managed to win over all four, including the 38-year-old Brazilian. As you can see in the table below, Obamayang has 9 goals and one assist in 9 games, Torres has 6 goals and five assists in 14 games, Traore has four assists in ten games, while Danny Alves has recorded 1 goal and three in 9 games helps.
To better understand the magnitude of their contribution, suffice it to say that Barcelona have scored 50 goals in all competitions during Xavi’s time. Danny Alves was the first to play in the transfer deals against Granada.
By then, Barcelona had scored 13 goals in ten games. He has found 37 goals in fifteen games since then, with January’s four signings involved in 29 of those goals!
Specifically, the four players have 16 goals and 13 assists. Last but not least, it’s a big help that has changed the Blaugrana for the better.
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.
Marcos Llorente scored the only goal in Atletico’s injury-time win over Sevilla, lifting them to third place in La Liga, ahead of Barcelona.
Atletico defeated Sevilla with 1:0 in their procrastination game 4th matchday and overtook Barcelona for 3rd place in the La Liga standings.
The Rojiblancos were superior for most of the game, but in the first half the visitors managed to keep a clean sheet. However, at the start of the second period, Marcos Llorente, one of Diego Simeone’s two half-time substitutes, scored the first goal.
Another change almost made the difference when Caglar Seyunjiu came on in the 66th minute and was sent off four minutes later with a straight red card.
Quique Sanchez Flores’ men failed to threaten against ten opponents and Atlético picked up an important win before half-time.
The program for the 19th matchday
- 01.02. 6:00 p.m Getafe – Rayo Vallecano
- 01.02. 8:15 p.m Real Sociedad – Alaves
- 01.02. 10:30 p.m Valencia – Villarreal
- 01.03. 6:00 p.m Granada – Cadiz
- 01.03. 8:15 p.m Real – Mallorca
- 01.03. 8:15 p.m Celta-Betis
- 01.03. 10:30 p.m Girona – Atletico
- 01.04. 6:00 p.m Osasuna – Almeria
- 01.04. 8:15 p.m Seville – Sporty
- 01.04. 10:30 p.m Las Palmas – Barcelona
Source: sport 24
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
Real Madrid have suffered a major blow to their central defense due to injuries and one of the things they have on their list ahead of January is the loan of 20-year-old Brazilian central defender Robert Renan from Zenit.
After the serious injuries to David Alaba and Ender Militao, Real Madrid have entered the transfer market to sign a central defender.
One of the cases that the Merengues are considering, according to AS, is 20-year-old Brazilian central defender Robert Renan, who plays for Zenit St. Petersburg. Madrid initially wants to bring him in with a loan and a purchase option for next summer.
The young footballer is exactly the right person to strengthen the Merengues as he is left-footed and can develop into a very good footballer. This particular formula would also satisfy Zenit, but there is a non-football problem.
Groups linked to the Russian state continue to face sanctions from the European Union (and the US) over the military invasion of Ukraine. Specifically, teams cannot receive an amount over 108,000 euros.
Zenit is owned by Gazprom, one of the most famous oil companies (in the world) controlled by the Russian state.
Source: sport 24
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
According to the German newspaper “Die Welt”, Barcelona is threatened with exclusion from the new Champions League due to violations of Financial Fair Play. However, the Catalans are not aware of the specific risk.
A few hours after the legal recognition before the Court of Justice of the European Union of the European Super League, a project that Barcelona and Real Madrid have “operated” from the beginning until today, the Blaugrana are in adventure.
A publication by German newspaper Die Welt reports that the Catalans are at risk of being banned from the new Champions League (for up to three years) due to Financial Fair Play violations. Barcelona announced gigantic profits (a whopping 304 million euros), but according to the report, UEFA will audit the finances as the income must only come from “football activities”.
Barcelona reported on its balance sheet revenue from “Barca Studios”, the project that manages the team’s audiovisual material, such as the team’s official channel (Barca TV).
Sources in Barcelona management told Mundo Deportivo that they were unaware of the scenario in question.
Source: sport 24
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
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