MADRID, 4 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Xavi Hernández's FC Barcelona beat Atlético de Madrid at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (1-0) this Sunday thanks to Joao Félix's solitary goal, a victory with which the Blaugranas regain third position in the table and with which confirm that they are a reliable team since the arrival of the coach from Terrassa in the League matches in which they face rivals, a priori, complex such as Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Sevilla, Valencia or Real Betis.
FC Barcelona once again demonstrated against Atlético de Madrid that, since the arrival of Xavi, it is a team that knows how to play important league games. The narrow victory this Sunday is the 4th in four games against Cholo Simeone's team. A streak that historically only Guardiola and Luis Enrique have managed to achieve, in addition to Xavi Hernández. And in the League, since the arrival of
But the good results against Atlético de Madrid are not an isolated event in Xavi's Barça, quite the opposite. Since the Catalan coach took charge of the team in January 2022, the Blaugranas have shown notable solvency against important rivals. Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Valencia, Sevilla and Betis are some of the most important clubs in Spanish football since the First Division championship began, and it is before them that Xavi's Barça becomes more competitive.
Against their greatest historical rival, Real Madrid, Xavi's men have achieved 2 victories and 2 defeats in these two years, being the only rival of those mentioned above against whom they do not have a positive balance. Despite this, in all the games the Barça team was competitive, and the 0-4 with which Xavi Hernández made his debut in a League Classic on the Barça bench will always remain in the memory of the culé fans.
Beyond Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, historic Spanish football clubs such as Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Sevilla have experienced the Barça rollercoaster firsthand. In the case of Athletic, Barça has managed to win the 4 games they have played in LaLiga, also keeping a clean sheet in all of them. A performance similar to that which the Blaugranas have had against Valencia, against whom they have also achieved 100% victories.
However, two teams that do know what it means to get 3 points against Xavi's Barça in the League are Betis and Real Sociedad. In the case of the Sevillians, they managed to beat Barça at the Camp Nou with Xavi having just landed on the bench. However, after that blot, the Blaugranas have carried out all their games against Betis with victories. The case of the Basque team is different, which won on matchday 35 of the last League at the Reale Arena, although it was an event to which Barça arrived as champions and with nothing at stake for the culés. Finally, against Sevilla, 13 out of 15 possible points, giving up a draw at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in 2021-22.
In total, FC Barcelona has faced these rivals on 29 occasions since Xavi has been in charge of the team with a record of 24 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses. A performance that translates into having added 73 of 87 points, notable figures against tough rivals that led, among other things, to win the League title last season, and that this year they are alive in the fight for the title. championship.
Furthermore, Xavi's team is very strong in that one of the important pillars of the champion teams in recent editions of LaLiga has been defensive solidity. In these 29 games, against teams with great offensive potential, Barça has conceded 16 goals, keeping a clean sheet in 18 of them.
In short, some outstanding data for Xavi's Barcelona against top-level rivals that guarantee the Blaugranas being in the fight for the League title, and demonstrating that they are solvent when it is their turn to be.