Beating Real Betis doesn’t cover up for Barcelona’s limping performances

Barcelona haven’t lost a game in over three months. The last time the Spanish giants suffered defeat was back in October when they were beaten by Bayern Munich in their ultimate UEFA Champions League group game.

It was a loss that consigned the Blaugrana to the Europa League. However, manager Xavi Hernandez has managed to turn things around, with the club currently on a 14-game unbeaten run.

That impressive run continued when Barcelona recorded a 2-1 win over Real Betis in La Liga on Wednesday, February 1, following goals from Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.

Barcelona’s latest win sees them maintain a healthy five-point lead over rivals Real Madrid. But there’s more work to be done if they are to remain at the top of the table.

Blaugrana see off Betis

The biggest positive from Barcelona’s current run is that they are able to win under difficult circumstances and it takes a team with character to achieve that.

The fact that several players are also picking up at this stage of the season is another thing worthy of note. Against Betis, the Blaugrana had an impressive first half, with Alejandro Balde, Sergio Busquets, Frankie De Jong, Raphinha and Gavi all making good impressions.

Barcelona couldn’t maintain their dominance and, at some point, it felt like Betis could get back into the game. However, the Blaugrana held on to take all three points.

The downside, though, is that Xavi’s side kept dropping off as the game wore on and if it were against more quality opposition, they could’ve gotten punished.

Real Betis v FC Barcelona - LaLiga Santander

Barcelona limping despite winning

The Blaugrana are currently doing very well in La Liga and aren’t conceding much either but the reality is that although they continue to win, they aren’t playing well.

That the Blaugrana have narrowly won each of their last four matches shows how unconvincing they’ve been. It’s only a matter of time before their inability to kill off games comes back to haunt them.

The Catalans haven’t won by a two-goal margin in their last four matches and it doesn’t bode well for the team as they always tend to end games in a tense manner.

Real Betis v FC Barcelona - LaLiga Santander

Xavi’s post-match comments after the win against Betis certainly highlighted this point, as he told Sport:

“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."

"We took the ball away from Betis and minimized 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, it’s great.”

Xavi's side are winning but their victories do not cover up for their limping performances in recent weeks and that is something that Xavi must fix sooner rather than later.