Xavi Hernandez warned Barcelona not to fall asleep in the title race after being held to a second successive goalless draw in LaLiga at Getafe on Sunday.
Raphinha and Alejandro Balde both hit the post in the first half as Barca followed up last week’s stalemate against Girona with more dropped points in the league.
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They remain 11 points clear of Real Madrid at the top with nine games to go but, with in-form Atletico Madrid to come at Spotify Camp Nou next week, Xavi says his team need to get back on track quickly.
“We are not in our best form of the season, in terms of performances or results,” he said after the Getafe draw. “We tried, but we were too sluggish. We are having a good season in LaLiga, but we can’t go to sleep now. We have important games coming up.”
After Atletico, Barca travel to Rayo Vallecano, where they were beaten last season, and then host Real Betis and Copa del Rey finalists Osasuna as they attempt to win LaLiga for the first time since 2019.
A lack of goals has slowed them down in recent weeks. Xavi’s side have failed to score in each of their last three games in all competitions and have not found the net in 290 minutes in total.
The Barca coach complained that the pitch at Getafe’s Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium and the afternoon kick-off did not help his team’s cause on Sunday.