Xavi is right, the defeat to Girona on Saturday was an encapsulation of Barcelona’s struggles on the season. But it goes even beyond that.
Up front, if we are being realistic, we should admit that for competitive players, there really is no such thing as playing for second place.
That’s not to say there was nothing on the line but pride for the Catalan rivals as they battled it out for a higher place in the standards.
The club, and the managers, will understand this better than anyone.
There was significant money on the line, including the chance to play in the upcoming Spanish Supercopa.