Xavi Hernandez praised his players after their 2-1 La Liga win away at Real Betis on Wednesday night. It became their ninth successive win since the Derbi Barcelona draw against Espanyol.
The Catalans led 2-0 thanks to goals from Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski before a Jules Kounde own-goal gave the Andalusians late hope.
Barcelona, on the other hand, never looked in danger of losing their lead, and held on for an impressive win at the Benito Villamarin stadium that put them eight points clear of rivals Real Madrid at the top.
“They made it difficult for us at the end, it’s true. We had the chance for the third with a header from Ansu and then we were unlucky with the own-goal, but we played a great game at a very difficult stadium,” coach Xavi explained.
“We took the ball away from Betis and minimised them. I’m very happy because the team had attitude, mobility, ‘pausa’, we played for a long time in the opposition half…. I was thrilled when the whole team came back in the 83rd minute. If everyone works like that and runs like that…,” Xavi trailed off.
Xavi noted that his team remained “solid in defence and good in many moments of the game”.
“We are working well, we are on the right track. I see the team competing and enjoying many moments. I can see that they are hungry for success,” he added.
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