Having produced a very under-par performance for the vast majority of Saturday’s match against Real Sociedad, it seemed very unlikely that Barcelona would pick up a victory at the Reale Arena. However, they did just that, thanks to a late, late winner from Ronald Araujo.
It was a frustrating evening for the Catalans, who were very much second best against La Real. However, it mattered little in the end because of Araujo’s goal, although there will be scrutiny on their performance.
In the eyes of Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez, the La Real result was vindicated, as he felt that the roles in that match were reversed in El Clasico last weekend, where the Blaugrana lost out to Real Madrid late on after dominating for the best part of 60 minutes.
“Last week we deserved to win and we lost, and today when we didn’t deserve to win, we won.
“We have suffered, we have created few chances. We have not been comfortable, but it’s a very important victory. We take three golden points. It feels spectacular.”
🚨 Xavi Hernández: "Last week we deserved to win and we lost, and today when we didn't deserve to win, we won."
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 4, 2023
This result, especially in the manner in which it came, should be a big confidence-booster for Barcelona, who now look to Tuesday, when they take on Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
