How FC Barcelona Made A Mammoth Comeback To Top La Liga Under Xavi

FC Barcelona made a mammoth comeback in 2022/2023 in order to top La Liga eight points clear of bitter rivals Real Madrid with more than half of the season already played.

After the Catalans shelled out close to €160mn ($171mn) on new player signings, Culers filled Camp Nou on the opening match day to get a glimspe of the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Jules Kounde.

Due to a 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano, however, they went home disappointed with further mutterings and mumbles as to whether Xavi Hernandez is the right man to lead the first team as head coach creeping in following a first defeat of the campaign to Madrid in El Clasico.

The 3-1 loss at the Bernabeu in October proved to be turning point, however. Defending champions Madrid were then three points clear at the summit, but since that troubled time, however, as indicated by SPORT, the Blaugrana have not tasted defeat again by putting together 1o wins and a draw in their next 11 outings.

Of the total 20 matches that have been played in the Spanish top flight thus far, Xavi’s men have accumulated 53 points at an average of 2.65 points per game which puts them on course to achieve a 100 points season and become just the third team in history to do so.

While Barca have dropped just two points since the Clasico defeat, in a New Year’s Eve home draw against Espanyol, Madrid have seen 13 slip by them. Sunday’s 1-0 upset to Mallorca handed Barca the golden opportunity to stretch the gap to eight points, which they took by trouncing Sevilla 3-0.

Though stats have already been produced on how Xavi is faring better than his predecessor Ronald Koeman after the same amount of matches in the dugout, Barca are also in much healthier shape than they were after 20 games in 2021/2022.

At that time, they were sixth in the table with 32 points and trailed eventual winners Real Madrid by 17.

The landscape is completely different a year on, with the Catalans having also avenged the Clasico hiccup by beating Madrid 3-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final in Riyadh last month.

Now there can be no doubts – Xavi Hernandez IS working wonders in the dugout, and not only do his stats support this.

A glance at the league table is also a great indicator of the hard work done behind the scenes, and celebrations such as that of Gavi’s for his second goal on Sunday also demonstrate how he has fostered a strong sense of team spirit that is as much responsible for current success as a stingy defense that has leaked just seven goals all season.