FC Barcelona, in the final match under their coach Xavi, secured a 2-1 victory against Sevilla FC on Sunday, in the last game of the 2023-24 season in La Liga. The president of the Catalan club, Joan Laporta, announced on Friday that they were parting ways with the 44-year-old former midfielder, just a few weeks after reaffirming him in his position. Previously, at the end of January, Xavi had prematurely announced his resignation at the end of the season.
Sunday’s match, with no sporting significance, also marked the farewell of Quique Sánchez Flores (59), Sevilla’s coach, whose club decided to part ways with him just six months after his appointment.
Barça’s Polish forward, Robert Lewandowski, scored his 19th goal of the season in Andalusia. He finishes third in the top scorers’ ranking, tied with Real Madrid’s Englishman Jude Bellingham, and behind Girona’s Ukrainian Artem Dovbyk (24 goals) and Villarreal’s Norwegian Alexander Sorloth (23 goals).
Moroccan Youssef En-Nesyri equalized for Sevilla (31st minute) before Fermín López scored the winning goal for the Blaugrana (59th minute).
As defending champions with a disappointing season, Barcelona finishes second, ten points behind Real Madrid, who are the champions and qualified for the Champions League final, where they will face Dortmund, next Saturday at Wembley.
Sevilla, saved from relegation, finishes in an unremarkable 14th place, far from their season’s initial ambitions.
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