El Clásico is Xavi’s last stand for Barcelona

Photo by Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesAfter such a crushing defeat against Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the week, Xavi is going to find it difficult to raise the morale of a group of players that are set to end the season with nothing to show for their efforts.

El Clásico should be the one game where players from both sides need no extra motivation, but the Blaugranes are clearly lacking in that department as their performance once Ronald Araujo was sent off against PSG shows.

There’s no ‘elite mentality’ other than perhaps from Ilkay Gundogan and one or two others, so when the tide turns, there’s no backbone from the squad to rise up against the odds and grind out a result.

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