"We lacked that mentality to go for it" - Xavi slams Barcelona players' lack of aggression in 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano

Barcelona head coach Xavi slammed his players for their lack of aggression in their 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Saturday.

The Blaugrana fell behind after the 39th minute as Unai Lopez opened the scoring for the Red Sashes before an own goal from Florian Lejeune in the 82nd minute leveled the proceedings.

Although the reigning Spanish champions managed to avoid a loss, they still dropped points and fell three points behind leaders Girona and one behind arch-rivals Real Madrid. Both teams also have a game in hand over them.

In the post-match press conference, Xavi lamented his side's lack of a strong mentality to turn the tie around while admitting Barcelona weren't aggressive enough.

He said (via GOAL):

"I think it was a game of two halves. In the first, we dominated but didn't really go for the game, we were not aggressive. We lacked that mentality to go for it. If we want to win trophies this season, we have to change our mentality. The second half was good but not enough.

"We woke up too late. We did what we wanted: dominated and created chances. We could have scored more. But we have to win these games if we want to win LaLiga, so we have to be self-critical, too, and improve. We have to be closer to the second half performance."

Barcelona were second best in the first half as Rayo Vallecano had them on the back foot with an uncharacteristically stellar attacking display. The holders continued to struggle even after the break but were handed a lifeline towards the end when Lejeune fired the ball into his own net.

Alejandro Balde charged down the left flank to meet Inigo Martinez's long ball, and he looked to square it to Robert Lewandowski. However, while attempting to clear it away, Lejeune inadvertently fired it into the roof of the net.

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Barcelona could fall further behind in the La Liga title race

Barcelona's draw has left the door open for Girona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid- three sides above them on the La Liga table, to pull further clear of them.

In the form of their lives right now, promoted side Girona are currently three ahead of the Blaugrana, while Los Blancos have a two-point advantage over them. Atletico sit above the champions on goal difference.

Of these three, Girona and Real Madrid will be in action later tonight against Athletic Bilbao and Cadiz, respectively. Both teams are favorites to prevail, and Barcelona could see their title defense come under threat, for now.