Here's our assessment of the Barcelona manager.
Starting XI
Xavi decided to drop Aubameyang from his starting XI. Instead of the Gabonese, Memphis Depay was given the nod, alongside Ferran Torres and Dembele in a front three.
In midfield, Frenkie de Jong replaced Pedri. At the back, Lenglet started in place of the injured Gerard Pique and the absent Ronald Araujo.
What Xavi's starting XI looked like:
It was odd to see Xavi start the game without an out-and-out striker. We know that neither Ferran nor Memphis are excellent in that center-forward position.
Barca really needed a no. 9 starting this game, and Xavi surprised us by leaving Luuk de Jong and Aubameyang on the bench.
Game management
Barcelona struggled to find the cutting edge against a resilient Cadiz side. Crosses from Dembele was finding nobody in the box.
As can be seen from Barca's shot zones, 50% of Barcelona's 18 shots were coming from outside the box. Of the 6 shots on target, only Aubameyang's looked like troubling Ladesma in the Cadiz goal.
Barcelona could not penetrate through the middle and Xavi had no answer for that.
Despite dominating possession, with over 70%, Barca lacked a player who would finish off half-chances in the final third.
From how Xavi's players were positioned, it was clear that Barca needed a no. 9 to cause a nuisance in the Cadiz box.
Only Dembele and Ferran were advanced, as Memphis kept dropping into midfield to get the ball. Thus, when chances arrived in the box, he wasn't there.
It took 61 minutes for Xavi to isolate the problem and sub off Lenglet for Adama.
The gaffer then switched to a 3-5-2 formation, with Adama and Dembele playing as wingbacks, while Luuk and Aubameyang partnered as center-forwards.
That would've been a better formation to start the game. But it was too little too late as Cadiz held on for their biggest win in 2022.
Little wonder Xavi blamed himself for the defeat.
