‘We suffered a lot’: Xavi reflects on Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Real Sociedad

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez on Thursday breathed a sigh of relief after his side managed to hold on to a slender one goal lead to win against Real Sociedad away from home in La Liga.

The home side were much better than the Blaugrana for large spells of the game, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 11th minute goal proved to be the difference between the two sides. Xavi was relieved that his side managed to hold on for three points, especially in light of recent disappointments.

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Commenting on Barcelona’s performance in his post-match interview, the 42-year-old said, “For long spells they dominated us, they had more of the ball than us – they are a great team, physically very strong. It’s a huge victory for us.”

“I think we suffered a lot tonight but it’s a good win at the end of the day. This is the attitude we need to have in every game, to give our best, to give everything until the last minute, that’s what we did today,” the Barcelona manager added, praising his side for the hard-fought win.

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“Our opponents played well tonight. We scored early and now we are close to qualifying for the Champions League and this is important for us,” added Xavi, who had earlier expressed his displeasure at Barcelona’s exit from the Champions League.

The win took Barcelona to the second position in the league table: the Blaugrana now have 63 points from 32 games, and are above third-placed Sevilla on goal difference, despite Sevilla having played one game more.

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However, Barcelona are unlikely to be able to challenge Real Madrid for the league title this season: Los Blancos are at the top of La Liga with 78 points, 15 clear of their arch-rivals.

The Blaugrana play Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou this Sunday, and Xavi will be hopeful of building on Thursday’s win.