Spirited Barcelona leave it late against Villarreal as Xavi's unbeaten reign continues

Xavi Hernandez hasn’t had a smooth ride since becoming Barcelona manager. Despite starting his reign with a win over Espanyol, he was given a reality check when the Blaugrana were held to a draw by Benfica in the UEFA Champions League.

Xavi’s first two matches in charge highlighted the good and bad of the team: sometimes they are good and slick; others times too they are just ordinary.

However, there were lots of positives to pick from the Blaugrana’s performance against Villarreal on Saturday. The Estadio de la Ceramica is always a difficult ground to visit but Barcelona managed to depart with all three points.

It was one of those games that required more than just talent to win and, fortunately for Barcelona, they showed the needed desire and character to secure victory.

Blaugrana record late win over Villarreal

Xavi has clearly indicated that he wants his side to always possess the ball, but Barcelona found it difficult to do that against the Yellow Submarine.

And, at one point, it looked as if it wasn’t going to be Barcelona’s day after Samuel Chukwueze canceled out Frenkie de Jong’s opening goal.

However, the Blaugrana launched a late onslaught and their efforts paid dividends as Memphis Depay and Philippe Coutinho struck late to secure an impressive 3-1 win.

The team is still adapting to Xavi’s methods and they are currently a work in progress. However, winning such difficult games will only go a long way to restore the winning mentality at Camp Nou.

Xavi's unbeaten reign continues

Xavi hasn't had too much time to work with his squad. The international break afforded him some time to work with players who did not receive invitations from their national teams, many of whom are youngsters.

However, the 41-year-old has done very well to keep the team motivated and Saturday’s win over Villarreal means he remains unbeaten at the helm.

It can be argued that he has managed just three matches but those games were all high-pressure matches and a loss could’ve deflated the dressing room and disrupted his tenure.

"We did not dominate the game as we expected but we played against a great team," Xavi said after his side’s victory against Villarreal, as quoted by Football Espana.

"We were lucky in parts as Villarreal did not deserve to lose. It has taken a lot from us on the night. We have been fortunate with Memphis’ goal, but these are three golden points for us."

Indeed, Barcelona did not play well and were lucky to win against Villarreal. But another way to look at it is that the team hasn’t lost yet under Xavi and they can build on that to be better in subsequent weeks.