The Barcelona hosts Rayo Vallecano on Sunday in a postponed match of matchday 21 of the Spanish championship in search of a victory that will secure him in second place in the league and delay Real Madrid’s wing.
Second in the standings tied on points with Sevilla, a victory would allow Barça to tie up that position a little more, which the azulgranas have as their goal for the season given the difficulty of reaching the meringues.
“Two or three weeks ago we were excited about being able to compete in the League, now we are very far away. Now the reality is to compete for second place”, affirmed Xavi on Wednesday, before a long-suffering 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad on Thursday.
“They are three points of gold,” he added. Xavi after the match in San Sebastián, which serves as an incentive to add another three units on Sunday against the Madrid team.
In the event of victory, Barça would not only hold on to second place in the classification that gives access to the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup, but it could delay the league title of Real Madrid a little more.
In case of tripping in front of Lightning, the white team would practically be guaranteed to lift the trophy on the following day after their match against Espanyol.
Barça will try to find its best football again after his missteps against Eintracht Frankfurt, which dropped him from the Europa League, and Cádiz in the League.
– Tiredness –
The long-suffering victory against Real Sociedad did not serve to erase the reborn doubts about his game, that the azulgrana coach attributed to the fatigue of the players.
“I try to press the 90 minutes up and we are suffering. Is a reality. It’s a game model changer. This hasn’t been done for a long time. Physically it shows”, affirmed Xavi after the meeting of the Real Sociedad.
Several players ended up touched after that meeting, among them, Gerard Piqué who has physical discomfort and who Xavi could rest against Rayo.
Uruguayan central defender Ronald Araujo, who had also set off the alarm after suffering a knock to his knee, has been training normally and may be available for the match.
Barça will once again put themselves to the test against a Rayo that continues to fight for ensuring permanence and that he could recover Colombian striker Radamel Falcao for that match.
The ‘coffee grower’ has recovered from his muscle injury which kept it in dry dock since the end of February.
The Ray arrives at this meeting after their important victory against Espanyol 1-0 on Thursday.
“The team needed a win,” said tAfter that meeting, the Rayista coach, Andoni Iraola, whose team, after surprising in the first part of the championship, has been falling in the qualifying table.
His victory over Espanyol It was the first in the last ten league games, in which he lost six games.
“It is an award for this group of players. Despite having such a negative streak, the players have continued to believe,” Iraola said on Thursday.
On Sunday, the rayistas have a new occasion to try to add another three valuable points in his eagerness to ensure permanence.
