Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez expressed his delight as his team come from behind to defeat bitter rivals Real Madrid 2-1 in their El Clasico showdown on Sunday night. This victory sees Barcelona extend their lead at the top of La Liga to 12 points.
“It’s not definitive, I don’t feel like we are champions yet, but it’s a huge step forward,” Xavi stated during his post-match news conference. “I am happy because [the lead is] 12 points with 12 games left, but it’s not over. Only we can lose La Liga, so we cannot switch off. We cannot relax. There are still a lot of games to go.”
The Catalan giants have now won each of their past three games against Real Madrid; a feat that they had not achieved since the 2011-12 season when Pep Guardiola was in charge.
Defeating Real Madrid is just one sign of the major turnaround that Xavi has instilled at Barcelona since becoming manager 18 months ago. Ninth in the league when he joined the club, Xavi lifted Barca to second place by the conclusion of his debut managerial season.
Now, Barca is in a prime position to win the league and is set to face Real Madrid yet again on April 5 when the pair face off in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal clash. Barca goes into the game with a 1-0 aggregate lead.
