Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde labels teammate 'a beast' after incredible display in 1-0 win over Villarreal

Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde has lauded Ronald Araujo for his fine outing in his team's 1-0 win at Villarreal on Sunday (February 12).

The Blaugrana extended their lead at the top of the 2022-23 La Liga standings to a whopping 11 points with their 18th win of the ongoing campaign. Pedri scored the decisive goal in the first half of the clash.

Araujo, 23, relished an impressive 90 minutes on the Estadio de la Ceramica pitch at the weekend despite picking up a yellow card. He completed 23 passes, made four recoveries, won two tackles and nine overall duels, and registered a clearance and an interception.

Speaking to Movistar, Balde heaped praise on the Uruguayan, saying:

"Araujo is a beast. He is always assured at the back and we are very happy to have him with us."

When asked about his own performance, the 19-year-old replied:

"Xavi asks me to be me, to push up. I am very happy for the confidence, for the minutes and for being able to continue learning."

With the away win over Villarreal, Barcelona have now registered 16 clean sheets in 21 La Liga games. When asked about his team's solid defensive performances throughout the campaign, Araujo responded:

"We are working very well in defence, which was something to correct from last season. We are all happy with those numbers, to help out Marc [Andre ter Stegen]. Our midfielders and forwards are also trying to close the gaps between the lines to help us out."

Pointing out one of Blaugrana's frailties, Araujo added:

"Sometimes we need to close the games. When you only win 1-0, it can get complicated. But we are very happy for the victory."

Barcelona are currently on 56 points from 21 La Liga games, while second-placed Real Madrid are on 45 points with a game in hand.

Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez opines on La Liga title race with Real Madrid lurking

During a post-match presser, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez stated that Real Madrid could yet catch up to them. He elaborated:

"Insurmountable? Not at all. There is a world left. But we are happy because we are on a very good run. We are very serious now."

Expanding on his team's recent 1-0 wins, Xavi added:

"We have had more than enough chances to score more goals, but many times it is the success of the team, which is not successful in the last pass, decision-making, shooting... we have been very clear. We are a very offensive team although we won by the minimum."