Barcelona look to be in a much better place nowadays, following a very difficult period from November to January. The Catalan giants have picked up 17 points out of the last 21 available in La Liga (5 wins, 2 draws), which has seen them overtake Girona for second place in the standings – albeit they have played one game more.
🚨 Barça have collected 17 points out of the 21 possible since Xavi's decision to leave. @bonagerman pic.twitter.com/TysD0nDx4Z
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 9, 2024
Their defensive prowess has been the driving force behind their strong form. In their last seven matches across all competitions, they have conceded just six goals in these seven matches, with their latest shutout taking place on Friday as they edged past Mallorca at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
A significant part of Barcelona’s upturn in form has come down to their midfield looking much more balanced – this is as a result of Xavi’s decision to utilise Andreas Christensen as a pivot, which started at the beginning of this aforementioned run of seven matches.
🚨 Barça has conceded 6 goals in the last 7 games with Christensen playing as a pivot. Before that they had conceded 16 goals in the previous 7 games. @tjuanmarti pic.twitter.com/Vl2jdVQFvh
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 9, 2024
This statistic is slightly skewed too, as three of the six goals conceded during this period came in one match (vs Granada). Barcelona will hope to remain defensively sold when Napoli come to town next week for the second leg of their Champions League last 16 showdown.
