Barcelona dropped points again in La Liga as they settled for a dramatic 1-1 draw with Valencia on Saturday.
Valencia held the La Liga champions to ransom with vintage first half performance, and it was pretty evident the Catalans are in for another tough test after a two-match winless streak.
Barcelona struggled to create chances in the first half as they battled with Valencia's speedy, and spirited attacks, quick transitions, dangerous counters, and closed-up half spaces.
In the opponent's final third, they were clueless, struggling with forlorn passes and shaky offensives. Both sides drew blank at the interval.
Meanwhile, Xavi Hernandez was looking for this first win in three matches. They did put up an improved performance in the second half, wielding more control of proceedings in the game.
In the 55th minute, they were finally able to find the back of the net. Joao Felix came to the rescue with the lone goal but the lead was short-lived.
Against the run of play, Guillamon came up clutch for Valencia in the 70th minute to score the equaliser and peg back the champions from a win.
With 20 minutes left to play, the Catalans made a late push to return to the lead but could not score again as Valencia defended with grit to keep the score at 1-1.
The match ended with Barcelona dropping points again in a big blow to their La Liga title challenge.
Xavi Hernandez under pressure after dropping point again
Barcelona have now gone winless in their last three matches following the draw. They are third on the La Liga table with 35 points but have played a game more than Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Girona.
Should Real Madrid defeat Villarreal, they will extend the lead over Barcelona to 7 points whole Girona will extend it to 9 points.
Atletico Madrid also have a chance to overtake the Catalans as they are just a point away from them, and have a game in hand.
This has made several pundits to rule Barcelona off the race for La Liga title this season with their manager coming under intense pressure to reverse the dismal run.
Valencia held the La Liga champions to ransom with vintage first half performance, and it was pretty evident the Catalans are in for another tough test after a two-match winless streak.
Barcelona struggled to create chances in the first half as they battled with Valencia's speedy, and spirited attacks, quick transitions, dangerous counters, and closed-up half spaces.
In the opponent's final third, they were clueless, struggling with forlorn passes and shaky offensives. Both sides drew blank at the interval.
Meanwhile, Xavi Hernandez was looking for this first win in three matches. They did put up an improved performance in the second half, wielding more control of proceedings in the game.
In the 55th minute, they were finally able to find the back of the net. Joao Felix came to the rescue with the lone goal but the lead was short-lived.
Against the run of play, Guillamon came up clutch for Valencia in the 70th minute to score the equaliser and peg back the champions from a win.
With 20 minutes left to play, the Catalans made a late push to return to the lead but could not score again as Valencia defended with grit to keep the score at 1-1.
The match ended with Barcelona dropping points again in a big blow to their La Liga title challenge.
Xavi Hernandez under pressure after dropping point again
Barcelona have now gone winless in their last three matches following the draw. They are third on the La Liga table with 35 points but have played a game more than Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Girona.
Should Real Madrid defeat Villarreal, they will extend the lead over Barcelona to 7 points whole Girona will extend it to 9 points.
Atletico Madrid also have a chance to overtake the Catalans as they are just a point away from them, and have a game in hand.
This has made several pundits to rule Barcelona off the race for La Liga title this season with their manager coming under intense pressure to reverse the dismal run.
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