Xavi fumes at 'unacceptable' Barcelona after ugly Almeria victory

Xavi Hernandez has admitted that the current Barcelona team lack the "spirit" of last season's title-winning side.

Barca won their first game in four on Wednesday evening, besting La Liga's bottom club Almeria at the Estadi Lluis Companys. Xavi's side were made to work surprisingly hard for the win, however, and had to rely on a brace from captain Sergi Roberto to secure a narrow 3-2 victory.

Speaking to the press after the game, manager Xavi lamented key differences between the 2023/24 Barca team and the group that lifted the La Liga title last season as he slammed his side's latest performance.

"We suffered much more than I expected," he said. "We had 30 shots and gifted them two goals. The first half is unacceptable. As a coach you can't accept that - I told [the players] that at half-time.

"It's as simple as that. The second half is better, but we missed a lot [of chances] and made a lot of mistakes. It's been like this for over a month.

"The team lacked spirit. The team doesn't have that same spirit it had last season. There's no aggression or focus. We need more rhythm and intensity.

"We didn't win [trophies] last year because of individual quality. We won them because we were a group, a family. We were aggressive, we defended together and we attacked well. The reality is if we don't give everything, it won't be enough against whoever we are playing. I see a lack of hunger, but that is my responsibility and it won't happen again."

Barca currently sit in third place in the La Liga table, six points adrift of surprise pace-setters Girona heading into the Christmas break, although the league leaders could extend that advantage to nine points with victory over Real Betis on Thursday.

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