FC Barcelona clinched La Liga’s title for the 2022–23 season with a convincing 4–2 victory against archrivals Espanyol, but there was never any genuine question about their dominance in the league. Barcelona made it quite evident that they are the finest club in the Spanish top division following their 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in their most recent league match.
Returning to the top was not an easy journey. After seeing Real Madrid win two of the previous three league championships, with Atlético Madrid winning the third after acquiring Luis Suárez, Barcelona made risky choices in the summer transfer window, securing their future revenues to win the championship.
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Here are the top 5 reasons why FC Barcelona was successful in winning their 27th domestic title
Xavi’s Management
Even his own supporters were harshly critical of him this season, but Xavi deserves even more praise for the job he has done steering the Barcelona ship. La Blaugrana had a history of hiring uninspiring managers who didn’t get the club’s concept and tended to undercut the players; Ronald Koeman’s reign had some particularly hysterical low periods.
Even while some Real Madrid supporters falsely claimed that Xavi had not advanced the team beyond Koeman, maybe out of fear, the fact is that the storied Barcelona midfielder really made a significant difference for the team right away. He handled himself with class despite the strain of running such a prominent organisation and had a clear vision and a manner of interacting with the players.
Although that 4-0 Clásico thrashing eventually acted as more of a wake-up call for eventual Champions League champions Real Madrid, the earliest indications of Xavi’s greatness may have been seen there.
The way Xavi has recovered from setbacks is what has caught many eyes. In the Champions League group stages in 2022, he was held accountable for several poor individual performances, like as Gerard Piqué’s humiliating defence against Inter and Ousmane Dembélé’s head-in-the-clouds performance (which some supporters oddly appreciated) against Bayern München. At the La Liga Champions League level, it should never be acceptable for players to make such glaring mental errors, yet Xavi recognised the problems in the team, fixed them, and improved his organisational framework.
In terms of European competitiveness, Barcelona is not exactly where they want to be, but they will get there. Barça has proven they have the talent to reach that level after dominating Real Madrid in most of their head-to-head contests this season and winning the title against what is perhaps the best club in the Champions title.
There shouldn’t be any doubts about La Blaugrana’s potential under Xavi, who has combined Barcelona’s traditional principles with a required fresh approach to the current game.
Rock Solid Defense
Barcelona was propelled by the efforts of its defensive players since, in the end, it is the players who truly have to create the outcomes on the field. In the past, Barça’s defence was a serious flaw, frequently made fun of by mainstream football analysts for getting destroyed by teams like Bayern Munich and Kylian Mbappé.
It would be difficult to find a stronger group in their league this year. Barcelona has only given up 13 goals in 34 games, which is an absurd total. The main reason they were able to defeat meaningful Madrid, who frequently made absurd mistakes and lacked any meaningful organisation under Carlo Ancelotti, was their better defensive play.
Some have attempted to dismiss Barça’s defence as chance, citing the xG measure as one they themselves don’t seem to comprehend. Barcelona may have been relatively unlucky not to have given up more goals, but it is impossible to dismiss the fact that they only let up half as many goals as Atlético Madrid, the second-best league defence.
One of the top centre-backs in the league, Andreas Christensen has proven to be a brilliant free-agent acquisition. The importance of Jules Koundé has met expectations among Barcelona supporters. Uruguayan centre-back Ronald Araujo is absolutely top-notch. Vinicius Junior has the utmost regard for him for a reason. Last but not least, the young left-back Alejandro Baldé is already among the finest in the world at his position.
Consistency
Real Madrid, a reigning champion, still views themselves as one of the world’s top teams; after all, they are now playing in the Champions League semi-finals and have already won the Copa del Rey.
In what is regarded as “the competition of consistency” in Spain, Carlo Ancelotti’s club, however, was unable to stay up with Barcelona this season.
Madrid defeated Barcelona 4-0 in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal, and although they still rank as the nation’s top team on occasion, Barcelona has established a significant points advantage over Madrid as a result of their more consistent play.
Madrid suffered from Karim Benzema’s injury-plagued season, and it is challenging to play at a high level in every game with ageing greats Luka Modric and Toni Kroos both important players in their best 11.
Barcelona’s elimination from the Champions League and Europa League hurt, but it allowed Xavi’s team to concentrate on winning the top division.
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Extra Midfielder
Barcelona generally uses a 4-3-3 formation, but in January, Xavi made the decision to start using Gavi as a left winger.
The kid would enter the pitch and provide Barca a fourth midfielder, providing them a helpful advantage to aid in maintaining possession.
then defeated Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup using that method, and then went on a seven-game winning streak in La Liga.
Lewandowski’s productivity was reduced in the second half of the season as a result of fewer opportunities being generated for him, but Barca had much more control over the course of the game.
Shift in-game
Barcelona’s two previous coaches, Ronald Koeman and Quique Setien, failed to defeat either of Spain’s other two dominant teams in La Liga, Real Madrid and Atletico.
In his first few months in command last season, Xavi altered that by defeating both, and he did so once more this season.
The Catalans had one loss, two victories over Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in league play.
