2 years ago
After moving into second position on Sunday, Xavi stated that Barcelona will "keep battling" until winning the LaLiga title is mathematically impossible.
Barca leapfrogged their opponents and Atletico Madrid in the table after a hard-fought 1-0 win against Sevilla at Camp Nou, due to a well-taken Pedri goal.
They are still 12 points behind Real Madrid, but Barcelona interrupted Sevilla's 15-game unbeaten streak in the league and are now unbeaten in 14 LaLiga games.
Xavi was happy after the win, despite the large distance between his club and Real Madrid, whom Barcelona smashed 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in their last away encounter.
Xavi told reporters, "I am extremely positive; I believe in labor, effort, sacrifice, and group work." "We're really good." We're all supporting, we're all working, and we're all running. The outcomes should follow from this foundation.
"This is the season's greatest moment." We dominated a formidable opponent with LaLiga's finest defense. [Sevilla] is a fantastic squad with a fantastic coach in [Julen] Lopetegui."
For the first time since a stretch of four between February and June of 2020, Barcelona has preserved a clean sheet in three consecutive league games at Camp Nou.
Xavi claimed his squad did not consider "sending a message," but he praised the fans' efforts and vowed that the players will endeavor to chase down Madrid.
"We didn't send anyone a message," he continued. "It was sent to ourselves. We came out on top and had a great time.
"The atmosphere was incredible. And in LaLiga, we'll keep battling as long as the stats don't suggest otherwise."
The Blaugrana's head coach praised the match-winner as well, saying that Pedri "had no comparable" to him.
"He's a fantastic player," Xavi said. "He has scored a fantastic goal. He is a force to be reckoned with. Watching him play is a spectacle, and he is just 19 years old.
Pedri was happy with his goal and is loving his time with Xavi's Barcelona team. In his last seven LaLiga games, the youngster has scored twice as many goals as he did in his previous 34 appearances in the tournament. This was also his first goal for the Catalan giants from outside the box.
"[The goal] was similar to the one we scored in Turkey [in the Europa League against Galatasaray]," Pedri said after the game.
"Under Xavi, we're pressing better, more calmly, and we've added a lot of firepower with the [January] acquisitions."
"We understand how tough it is to catch Madrid], but we are Barcelona, and we must battle to be first."
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