According to Xavi, there were five pivotal games where Barcelona blew up their season. It was why they finished the season trophyless and probably why Xavi was ultimately sacked.
"The titles have escaped us this season by four or five games. It's the only thing we haven't done wrong," Xavi said.
"I think a good job has been done by the entire staff and also by the players with great commitment," Xavi added.
Now that the season is over, we can reflect on those five games and what happened.
El Clasico — La Liga first leg
Barcelona were beaten 2-1 in their first El Clasico of the season. That defeat dealt a psychological blow to Xavi's men as they were beaten at home. They were leading in that game and playing well before Madrid hit back with two goals.
The defeat was riddled by mistakes from Barca players and Ter Stegen was to blame for conceding a cheap goal from Bellingham's long shot.
Gundogan later criticized his Barca teammates for not taking the loss too seriously afterwards.
El Clasico — Supercopa final
The next El Clasico of the season also ended in defeat for Barca – this time a final in January. Again, Barca were unravelled by forced and unforced errors. Araujo gave away a penalty and later saw red in the game.
Vinicius was allowed to roam free and score a hat-trick as Barca seemed to be caught in the floodlights of Saudi Arabia. The game ended 4-1.
Barca v Bilbao — Copa Del Rey quarter-final
Barcelona might've had a shot at winning the Copa Del Rey this year but they were stopped by a 4-2 defeat to Athletic Bilbao. That was a painful defeat for many reasons.
Barca finished the first half leading 2-1, but they collapsed in the second half as Bilbao came roaring back. Lamine had a chance of scoring in the final minutes to stop the game from going into extra-time but he missed with just the keeper to beat.
Bilbao would score twice in extra time to dump Barca out.
Barca v PSG — Champions League quarter-final
Perhaps Barca's defeat to PSG in the Champions League was the most painful of the season.
Barca won the first leg 3-2 away and were tipped to finish the job in the second leg. They were on their way to doing that when Raphinha scored early on. Then Araujo happened.
The Uruguayan picked up an unnecessary red card and Barca collapsed from there. The game ended 4-1 and 6-4 on aggregate.
El Clasico — La Liga second leg
Barcelona are still crying blue murder over what happened in their final El Clasico of the season. Again Barca scored first but individual mistakes would cost Barca again.
After Barca gave away a penalty via Cubarsi to allow Vinicius to score the equalizer, they took the lead again but still couldn't hold on.
Barca complained bitterly afterwards about a Lamine Yamal 'ghost goal' and the penalty decision but ultimately, mistakes from big players like Cancelo proved too costly. Barca lost 3-2.
That defeat all but sealed Barca's La Liga fate and crowned Madrid champions.
Bonus: Barca v Girona — home/away
How did Barcelona lose 4-2 both home and away to Girona? The answer is individual errors and tactical mistakes.
Mistakes from big players like Cancelo, Araujo and Sergi Roberto proved ever so costly for the Blaugrana. And Xavi cannot explain benching Raphinha in those games.
In the end, Barca picked up 85 points in La Liga but it was not enough to win the league. Xavi finished the season trophyless and got the sack.
