In Depth: Why Xavi is under pressure like never before at Barcelona

Barcelona are going through a rough patch. They are nine points behind surprise La Liga leaders Girona and trail rivals Real Madrid by seven.

They have won just four of their last 10 matches in all competitions — a run that started with a 2-1 Clasico defeat to Real Madrid and includes embarrassing Champions League losses at Shakhtar Donetsk and Antwerp.

Perhaps the match at home to Girona on December 10 did the most damage. That 4-2 defeat lit the touch paper on an extraordinary week that saw Barcelona president Joan Laporta intervene in Xavi's selection plans, leaving the head coach's position seriously weakened.

In public, Laporta has continued to offer support for Barca's manager — as has sporting director Deco.

But despite all this, the reality is that Xavi, who took over at Barca in November 2021, is under a level of pressure he would not have felt before as a manager. The Athletic explains why — and where this could go next.

Last season's La Liga triumph was fuelled by Barca's excellent defence — they conceded only 20 goals in 38 games. A first league title since 2019 was well-celebrated, but Barca were not quite so impressive in attack, and improvement on this front was a priority target.

They've struggled to achieve that. Deadline-day signings Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix landed in Barcelona to help provide more cutting-edge, but the team is much more unbalanced compared to last term. Barca have lost their defensive stability (already conceding 19 goals in La Liga) and have not won a game by more than one goal since September. The buzz in September that followed consecutive 5-0 victories over Real Betis and Antwerp feels like a long time ago.

Put simply, Xavi has not delivered what the club expected at the start of the