La Liga champions Barca held at Valencia

Barcelona, the champions of La Liga, didn't succeed in maintaining their perfect record so far in the Spanish title race, as they clinched a 1-1 draw against Valencia on Saturday in a closely-fought match.

Date: December 16th, 2023 Time: 11:15 pm (issued), 11:29 pm (modified) The following is a rewritten version in simpler, free English: The blog was posted on December 16th, 2023 at 11:15 pm. It was changed later at 11:29 pm that same day.

The team led by Xavi Hernandez has climbed to the third spot in the standings, with a one-point advantage over Atletico Madrid. However, they are behind Real Madrid by four points and the surprise leaders Girona by six, despite having played one more game than all three of them.

Earlier on Saturday, Atletico lost 2-0 against Athletic Bilbao. Despite an enjoyable match on the east coast, the Catalans failed to fully benefit from the outcome.

Barcelona was in the lead in the second half thanks to Joao Felix's impressive teamwork, but they were quickly equalized through a great goal from Hugo Guillamon.

In the last four league matches, Barcelona have only managed to win one game. They suffered a devastating defeat last weekend at home against a powerful Girona team who dominated the game.

The team was even more troubled after losing to the low-profile Belgian team Royal Antwerp in the middle of the week during the Champions League, which gave more doubts about Xavi's leadership despite the fact that the Catalans had already secured their spot in the last 16.

During the following days, important members of the club, such as President Joan Laporta, expressed their endorsement towards him, before what was portrayed by Spanish media as a crucial match taking place at Valencia's lively Mestalla stadium.

Barcelona's midfielder Pedri expressed to Movistar that any score that wasn't worth three points had a significant impact on the team's morale.

We accomplished several positive things; however, we were unsuccessful in achieving our objective. In my opinion, our performance noticeably improved compared to the game against Girona, which we struggled in.

The player from Spain stated that they were supporting Xavi.

"We're standing by the coach, these are difficult times for all of us... we must stick together in order to make things better."

In the match against Girona, Barca lost due to the continuous back and forth gameplay. The champions chose to begin the game without a player specifically assigned to hold the midfield.

At the beginning of the game, Inaki Pena made a notable save by preventing Roman Yaremchuk from scoring, whereas Giorgi Mamardashvili from Valencia denied a spectacular attempt from Robert Lewandowski with acrobatic skills.

Pedri missed the goal with his shot, while Lewandowski tried a gentle, lobbed shot that was easily caught by the Valencia goalkeeper.

After 10 minutes into the second half, the visitors managed to get ahead by composing an impressive play that Felix finished neatly from a short distance.

Frenkie de Jong made a beautiful pass to Raphinha, who then set up the Portuguese striker with an easy tap-in.

Mamardashvili managed to save a powerful shot from Raphinha just a few minutes prior to Valencia's goal.

Ronald Araujo seemed to be uneasy due to his recent facial injury when he failed to clear the ball and let it bounce, giving Guillamon the opportunity to score.

Ruben Baraja's team drew level thanks to a midfielder's goal from the edge of the box that found the top corner.

Ferran Torres didn't make use of a great chance to regain the lead for Barcelona. De Jong delivered another well-executed high pass that found Torres, but his shot lacked power and confidence to make it count.

Mamardashvili held back Raphinha successfully while Araujo missed the target on a shot as Barcelona attempted to win in the last part of the game, but they were unsuccessful.

Valencia drew 10th place, and Baraja's team was much stronger compared to the previous year when they were fighting against being relegated.

"We put in a great deal of hard work and achieved a commendable tie. It was a tough game," expressed Guillamon to Movistar. This came after he scored on his initial start in La Liga this season.

The trainer is providing opportunities for other team members to play, however, I continually strive to remain accessible for when my services are required.

On Monday, Girona, who are in charge, will face off against Alaves, followed by Real Madrid's game against Villarreal on Sunday.