Barcelona have dropped form of late, with just one win in their last five games.

Barcelona were surprisingly beaten by Rayo Vallecano in midweek, and it was a poor performance from Xavi’s men.

Speaking about that performance, Xavi chose not to blame it on attitude, but that Barca didn’t have the right intensity.

“It’s not a matter of attitude, the proof is the points we’ve earned in the league, winning here is difficult and requires an intensity that we haven’t had, we’ve lost fair, that’s it,” Xavi said after Barcelona’s away loss to Rayo Vallecano.

“It’s sad because today we could have taken a very important step forward, but, fortunately we have an important advantage [over Real Madrid].”

“The advantage we have is important but it can’t be an excuse, we have done our homework well so far but we still have seven games left, now we have two at home that should help us to get six points and recover the competitive rhythm we had against Atletico Madrid.”