Barcelona manager Xavi has demanded immediate improvement from his team after Sunday's goalless draw against Getafe extended a minor slump for the runaway La Liga leaders.
Barca’s winless, and scoreless, run reached three games after the stalemate at Coliseum Alfonso Perez, allowing second-place Real Madrid to cut into their lead again. The Catalan club still hold an 11-point advantage over Madrid with nine games to go.
Madrid, mostly focused on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, won 2-0 at Cadiz on Saturday.
“We have to start playing better again, we have to be more effective,” Xavi said. “We earned a point that is not that bad, but we have to improve our game. This is not over yet.”
The one positive for Barca was a 22nd clean sheet of the season in the top flight, with Getafe, 15th, not creating much danger.
"Here you suffer, because the grass is high, the usual tricks, so it's hard, the clear chances you have, you have to put them away," Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen told DAZN. "It's a dry pitch, so it's difficult. We did things differently to normal."
Xavi echoed Ter Stegen's complaint that the low quality of the pitch played a part in the result, but said Barca could not hide behind it.
"It's not an excuse, we weren't accurate, we made chances but we could not finish them," said Xavi. "But yes, the grass did hurt us, the ball didn't run."
Xavi's side are still firm favourites to lift the title for the first time since 2019, but should they stumble at home against Atletico Madrid next weekend, doubts could creep in.
Getafe are four points above the drop zone, after Valencia, 18th, lost to Sevilla at Mestalla.
Sevilla, who welcome Manchester United for the Europa League quarter-final second leg clash next week, earned a hard-fought win over the frustrated hosts, for whom Ilaix Moriba was sent off late on.
Defender Loic Bade sent Sevilla ahead at Mestalla early in the second half, with Suso doubling the visitors' lead.
Valencia's anger grew when they were not awarded a penalty after the ball struck Fernando's hand in the area, and then later on had a spot kick award cancelled by the referee after VAR showed no foul had been committed.
The victory helped Jose Luis Mendilibar's Sevilla rise to 12th, eight points clear of the bottom three, continuing their improvement since he replaced Jorge Sampaoli at the helm in March.
Atletico stayed two points behind Real Madrid with a narrow 2-1 win over Almeria, 17th, which should have been more comfortable than it proved to be.
Antoine Griezmann headed Atletico ahead in the fifth minute when Angel Correa nodded on a corner to the back post.
Diego Simeone's side were dominant throughout, but Almeria pulled level when Leo Baptistao's shot deflected in off Jose Gimenez.
Griezmann sent the Rojiblancos ahead again before the break, finishing clinically from Yannick Carrasco's pass at the end of a fine team move for his 11th league goal.
They could not find the third and Almeria gave Atletico a few scares in the final stages, appealing for a penalty when Gimenez handled but VAR showed there was an offside.
"I think I'm at my most complete version in terms of assists and goals," Griezmann told Movistar. "I'm happy with my performances but I haven't reached my ceiling yet, I hope I can soon."
Girona, ninth, beat bottom-of-the-table Elche 2-0, leaving the stragglers 17 points from safety.
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Norway v Spain, Saturday, 10.45pm, UAE
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
More on Quran memorisation:
The details
Colette
Director: Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Keira Knightley, Dominic West
Our take: 3/5
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2a)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clinicy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Prince%20Mohammed%20Bin%20Abdulrahman%2C%20Abdullah%20bin%20Sulaiman%20Alobaid%20and%20Saud%20bin%20Sulaiman%20Alobaid%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Riyadh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2025%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20More%20than%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Gate%20Capital%2C%20Kafou%20Group%20and%20Fadeed%20Investment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
MATCH INFO
League Cup, last 16
Manchester City v Southampton, Tuesday, 11.45pm (UAE)
PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
liverpool youngsters
Ki-Jana Hoever
The only one of this squad to have scored for Liverpool, the versatile Dutchman impressed on his debut at Wolves in January. He can play right-back, centre-back or in midfield.
Herbie Kane
Not the most prominent H Kane in English football but a 21-year-old Bristolian who had a fine season on loan at Doncaster last year. He is an all-action midfielder.
Luis Longstaff
Signed from Newcastle but no relation to United’s brothers Sean and Matty, Luis is a winger. An England Under-16 international, he helped Liverpool win the FA Youth Cup last season.
Yasser Larouci
An 18-year-old Algerian-born winger who can also play as a left-back, Larouci did well on Liverpool’s pre-season tour until an awful tackle by a Sevilla player injured him.
Adam Lewis
Steven Gerrard is a fan of his fellow Scouser, who has been on Liverpool’s books since he was in the Under-6s, Lewis was a midfielder, but has been converted into a left-back.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
