Barcelona’s brilliant record against ‘historically top sides’ in Spain under Xavi

As we move closer to the final phase of the campaign, Barcelona have a chance to give the perfect sendoff to Xavi Hernandez.

The club are still in contention for the league title, especially thanks to a buoyant performance against Atletico Madrid.

The 3-0 victory over Los Colchoneros helped Barcelona keep the pressure on Real Madrid, with the two teams set to face each other again in April.

Real Madrid going to-for-toe

In fact, Real Madrid are the only rival Barcelona have failed to properly dominate under the leadership of Xavi.

In four La Liga matches against Los Blancos, Barcelona have won two while losing the other two. Interestingly, these are the only two defeats Barça have registered under Xavi against the club’s historic rivals.

Indeed, Barcelona have enjoyed a sublime record against their historic rivals in the league. They have dominated Atletico Madrid, in particular, winning all of the five clashes in the league.

Their next best record is against Sevilla, winning four of the five matches, while the other has ended in a draw. Barcelona have retained a similar record against Athletic Club as well.

Moving on to Valencia, Barcelona have registered three wins in five matches, but are yet to lose against Los Che.

In total, Barcelona have faced these historic rivals 23 times, winning 18 of them and drawing thrice. As mentioned earlier, they have tasted defeat only twice, with both coming against Real Madrid.

More work left this season

Barcelona will be looking to avoid a third defeat against Real Madrid as the two sides take each other on next month.

Should things go well for Barcelona before that, the April El Clasico could have some power over deciding the eventual winners of the league.

But with Madrid sitting eight points clear right now, Barça will have to pray that they end up dropping more points before that, even though they seem to have the easier Calder of the two.

Either way, Barcelona’s record against top sides in Spain has been commendable over Xavi’s tenure, but they will be hoping to maintain it when the next coach takes over staring 2024/25.