Xavi with work to do as Barca defeated by Villarreal on final day

The 2021/22 season has not been one to remember for those involved with Barcelona. 'Los Azulgranas' have failed to win a trophy this campaign, and if anyone wanted to find the answer as to why this is the case, they need not look any further than Barca's performance on the final day of the season.

Their opponents, Villarreal, had the pressure on them to achieve a positive result going into the game as they still had the UEFA Conference League to play for. They needed to secure a win to ward off Athletic Bilbao snatching seventh place from them, and they did just that. 

Despite all of Barcelona's possession in the opening 45 minutes of the match, it was The Yellow Submarine who went in at half time with their noses in front. Xavi's men looked comfortable for the majority of the half with Adama Traore causing trouble down the Barca right, and Busquets firing just over the bar after 20 minutes. 

However, Villarreal were an image of their Champions League selves this season. They were happy to allow Barca to play the ball in front of them and soak up pressure. After a 40 minute test in patience and concentration, Emery's men were given their opportunity and they took it. Pedraza finished off a classy team move. Lo Celso fizzed the ball into Alcacer and the Spaniard bounced it to Parejo, who duly played Pedraza in behind on the left. Villarreal's left back ran onto the pass and slotted the ball home. 

'Los Azulgranas' came out after the break with a little more intent. This was reflected when Ferran Torres was awarded a penalty but after a message in the referee's ear, the contact was deemed to have occured outside of the box. Two minutes later, Moi Gomez doubled Villarreal's lead after Traore gifted him the ball in the box, and the Villarreal man hammered his shot past Ter Stegen.

Xavi threw on some substitutes in an attempt to claw the game back and despite De Jong seeing the ball in the back of the net, it was ruled out for offside. That was as close to scoring as Barcelona got. A summer of hard work looms for Xavi and his Barcelona side. 

 

May 22, 2022