Xavi: 'Still time time to turn things round'

Following the 1-1 draw away to Rayo Vallecano, Xavi Hernández spoke to the media, saying "we have to be self-critical and make a lot of improvements, because if we want to win the league these are the kind of games you have to win. The team regrouped in the second half, and showed that we still have plenty of time to turn this situation around."

"It was a game of two halves. We were dominant in the first but weren't aggressive enough and didn't cause any real damage. We were better in the second half, we got deeper and managed to score a goal, but we didn't wake up until it was practically too late. I was happy with the second half, but we have to be self-critical, and I'm the first one who has to be, and we need to step things up a gear because that performance wasn't good enough."

"If we want to win the league or other titles, we need to give a lot more. We need to do what we were doing in the second half, the kind of football we're recognised for, our identity. That said, we could have scored in the first half. But in modern football, when the opposition scores first, it can be very hard to get back into the game, and even more so at a ground like this. We had chances to even get all three points, but it wasn't to be."

"This season we're giving away far too many goals and letting other teams get the better of certain phases. And we're being penalised for that. We need to change the dynamic."

"Frenkie de Jong's lack of match action showed, but he looked good. He's a fundamental player for us. We were getting the ball into play very nicely today and that was largely thanks to him."