Spain's La Liga is set to return to action after a busy week, as La Liga's top teams compete in Europe. Teams like Sevilla and Barcelona played in the Europa League, while Real Madrid won the match in the Champions League. Barcelona were eliminated after Manchester United beat them 2-1 at Old Trafford, while Sevilla advanced to the knockout stages after a 3-2 aggregate win.
Ahead of the weekend's games, Real Betis take on Elche on Friday to mark the resumption of La Liga. On Saturday, Espanyol and Mallorca go head to head at RCDE Stadium, while Cadiz host Rayo Vallecano. The most difficult match among them is Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid, Diego Simeone's army will have a short trip to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Valencia will be keen to find their way back to their winning streak against Real Sociedad after a 0-1 loss to Getafe last week. Athletics Club Bilbao host Girona on Sunday afternoon before Almeria and Barcelona face off at the Power Horse Stadium.
Barcelona will be keen to find their way back to victory after a nasty loss to Manchester United in England. On the other hand, Sevilla will host Osasuna just a few days after securing a tight spot against PSV.
CONTINUE READING-MORE NEWS
Xavi's 'pragmatic' message to the president of Barcelona after the loss to Man United - BizLIVE
Barcelona were even more heartbroken in Europe last night when they were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League in the knockout stages by Manchester United.
The two giants of European football faced off in a Champions League-sized draw over two legs, with the Red Devils winning on aggregate with a final score of 4-3.
That means Xavi has now suffered four European exits in just over a year since he took charge of the club.
Of course, there is bound to be disappointment following such a result, and according to AS's Javi Miguel, Xavi and Barcelona president Joan Laporta had an impromptu meeting on the flight back to Catalonia from Manchester after Thursday's loss. Year.
In conversation with the club's head, Xavi is said to have conveyed a positive message supported by a certain pragmatism. The report said the manager insisted the team fought a top team and had a big two-legged fight, as he did in his post-match press conference.
At the same time, however, the 43-year-old told Laporta that not all the pieces are ready for Barca to remain among the top teams.
"Now I have the feeling that we were competitive, that we were very close... Right now, the team is not at the level to win everything."
Xavi mentioned Barcelona do not have a natural right-back in their squad while there are also no obvious replacements for Sergio Busquets and Robert Lewandowski.
Laporta has also admitted in the past that they are building the team.
While leaving Europe would hurt, Barcelona still have a good chance of adding two more trophies to their closet. They are eight points ahead of Real Madrid in the La Liga title race, the title is the club's top priority, as Laporta always insists. The Catalan team is also present in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0