Membership legend Xavi capped off his stint as Barcelona supervisor on a profitable observe on Sunday night time (Could 26), as his crew claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory away at Sevilla. Because of their victory on Matchday 38 of the 2023-24 La Liga season, second-placed Barcelona gained two factors on league winners Actual Madrid, ending 10 factors behind them within the rankings.
Robert Lewandowski & Fermin Lopez Seal Barcelona Win At Sevilla
Barcelona gamers have been keen to offer Xavi the most effective send-off attainable on Sunday, and the intent was there for all to see. Simply two minutes in, Pedri stole the ball away from Sevilla, dashed towards the byline, and lower the ball again for Lamine Yamal. {The teenager} dispatched a fantastic drive, however his shot was straight at Sevilla center-back Kike Salas, who made a fantastic block to fizzle out the hazard.
The objective arrived 13 minutes later, as Robert Lewandowski showcased his world-class off-the-ball motion. The Polish striker slid behind the protection to fulfill Joao Cancelo’s fantastic cross on the again put up. Then, from point-blank vary, Lewandowski dispatched an impeccable header to seek out the bottom-left nook.
Sevilla restored parity within the thirty first minute, due to an excellent little bit of play by Boubakary Soumare. Soumare outsmarted Andreas Christensen and performed a low move to Youssef En-Nesyri towards the left put up. The striker then utilized a fantastic end to seek out the again of the online.
Sevilla created a couple of extra goalscoring alternatives, however Fermin Lopez ensured Xavi was not disenchanted on his final outing. Within the 59th minute, the teen obtained the ball from Ilkay Gundogan, steadied himself, and located the bottom-left nook with a fantastic strike from exterior the world. After the objective, Lopez ran straight to Xavi on the touchline, celebrating the objective along with his supervisor.
Xavi’s Barca Spell Ends Abruptly
Only a month after saying Xavi will proceed as supervisor, Barcelona have determined to alleviate him from his tasks. Based on experiences, Xavi’s press convention forward of the sport towards Almeria angered Barca president Joan Laporta. Within the presser, Xavi mentioned Barcelona weren’t on the identical financial stage as Actual Madrid and requested followers to handle expectations.
Issues moved shortly after the convention. In a matter of days, Xavi’s departure grew to become official and Hansi Flick emerged as a front-runner to grow to be his successor. Barcelona haven’t but confirmed the previous Bayern Munich supervisor as their new boss, however many imagine the deal is finished.
Xavi got here on board as Barcelona supervisor in November 2021. Within the following 32 months, he oversaw 142 matches, guiding Barcelona to 90 wins, 23 attracts, and 29 defeats. He took Barca to the La Liga title and the Supercopa de Espana within the 2022-23 season.
