Xavi Hernandez warned Barcelona not to get complacent in the title race after being held to a goalless draw away to Getafe on Sunday.
Raphinha and Alejandro Balde both hit the post in the first half as Barcelona tried to bounce back after last week’s draw against Girona as well.
Barcelona are 11 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table with nine games remaining, but with in-form Atletico Madrid coming to Camp Nou next week, Xavi says his side must get back on track soon.
“We are not at our best this season, in terms of performances or results,” Xavi said as quoted by ESPN.
“We tried, but we were too slow. We had a good season in LaLiga, but we can’t sleep now. We have an important game coming up,” he continued.
After against Atletico, Barcelona travel to Rayo Vallecano, where they were beaten last season, and then host Real Betis and Osasuna as they bid to win LaLiga for the first time since 2019.
A lack of goals has hampered them in recent weeks.
Barcelona have failed to score in their last three matches in all competitions and have not scored in a total of 290 minutes.
The Barcelona coach complained that the pitch at Getafe’s Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium and the late afternoon kick-off did not help his team’s cause on Sunday.
“The condition of the pitch affects us, but we expect it,” added Xavi.
“We trained on dry pitches in Barcelona on Saturday to prepare,” Xavi continued.
“I get criticized a lot for [talking about the surface], but it’s difficult to play here and it’s not good for spectacle,”
“Ball stuck, bad even for Getafe. It’s fundamental that the pitch is in good condition”
“We’re [also] used to playing at night without the sun, that’s clear, but that’s no excuse and we have to get back on track now.”
Getafe coach Quique Sanchez Flores laughed off Xavi’s comments about the pitch after his side moved four points clear of the relegation zone.
“I’m not going to go into any of that,” he said. “We don’t play on clay. The grass is beautiful and the same for both teams.
“[At Camp Nou], they were short and quick for the way they played. We did what was best for us. We didn’t do anything outside the rules.”
Xavi is hoping to recover some of his injured players for the game against Atletico. Neither Andreas Christensen, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri or Ousmane Dembele have played since the international break, while Sergi Roberto came off injured against Getafe.
“We should have two or three players back next week,” said Xavi. “Losing players is not an excuse [for the draw], because we have a good squad,” he concluded.
