Xavi's Barca wave goodbye to 100 point record

Xavi Hernández will not match Tito Vilanova's record with a three-figure league points tally. After yesterday's defeat at Vallecas, FC Barcelona can reach, at most, 97 points, which would be a fantastic number, of course. But the truth is that the last few weeks of Xavi's team's performances have ruined a possibility that was wide open and very feasible just a month ago.

And the fact is that Barca are going through its worst moment of the season. Both in terms of results and feelings. It is true that the last victory at the Camp Nou against Atlético had merit and left some green shoots, but in general terms they are not finishing the league as they would have liked. The statistics are not deceiving. One win out of the last five official matches (the aforementioned win against Atlético).

After the painful 4-0 defeat in the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid, they have endured two consecutive goalless draws against Girona and Getafe and last night's defeat in Vallecas against a Rayo Vallecano team that was clearly superior. That's five points won out of the last 12 at stake. On top of that, the team conceded two goals yesterday, 22% of the total they had conceded in the previous 30 games.

Although Robert Lewandowski was able to break his drought (four games in a row without scoring), the truth is that Xavi Hernandez's team continues to show an alarming lack of attacking production and ideas in the final third of the pitch. And yesterday Frenkie and Pedri finally started together after a string of injuries. Raphinha came into it in spurts, Lewy was very lonely. The team is not able to react when the script changes, when they are on the ropes or when they are tactically outplayed.