Xavi Hernandez has blamed the team’s recent draw against Getafe on the state of the grass.
The goal-less draw allowed rivals Real Madrid to close the gap in the league standings as the season enters its final stages.
Speaking after the match, he expressed his frustration with the condition of the pitch, stating:
“The state of the grass has affected us. Yesterday we trained with a dry field. I have been criticised a lot about the issue of this surface. It is very difficult to play like this.”
This is not the first time that a top coach has pointed out the impact of the pitch condition on a match. Jurgen Klopp is known to come up with bizarre excuses after unfavourable results and one of them was a “dry pitch” against Fulham.
After his team’s draw against newly promoted Fulham in the opening game of the season Klopp cited the dry pitch as one of the reasons for the result, saying, “The pitch was dry, stuff like this, we played really in their cards most of the time.”
Despite the draw, Barcelona still holds a comfortable 11-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid with only nine games left in the season. It would be nothing short of a miracle if Barcelona were to lose the league title from this position.