Barcelona's players have learned from last season's struggles and are extra motivated to succeed in the upcoming campaign, according to defender Sergino Dest.
The Catalan giants registered their lowest points tally (73) last season since 2007-2008 (67), seeing them finish a distant second to fierce rivals Real Madrid.
Barca also failed to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2003-04, while falling well short in the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana.
Finishing as runners-up provided some cause for satisfaction, however, given they were ninth in November when Xavi replaced Ronald Koeman.
Xavi's side will now look to challenge Madrid for the LaLiga title this season, having added Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Raphinha to their squad this window.
While further new arrivals are anticipated, with Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski a target, Dest accepts that those at the club from last season must step up.
"I feel like we are Barca, so everybody expects us to be the best," United States international Dest told reporters. "That's true – you can't play here if you don't have any quality.
"So I feel like from all the games, the difficult games we lost last year, we definitely learned from it. This is going to be a different season."
Dest has spent the past two seasons at Barca, having joined from Ajax in a worth an initial €21million, and has made 70 appearances in all competitions.
That is a tally bettered only by seven other Barcelona players since his debut in October 2020, though he was restricted to just 23 starts last season after being hit by injuries.
And with Qatar 2022 now on the horizon, the full-back has plenty of reasons to hit the ground running this campaign.
"Everyone's extra motivated because of the World Cup," he said. "Everybody wants to play and prove themselves.
"I think we're just going to have a great season and try to learn from the games we lost last year."
Barcelona have gone three seasons without winning LaLiga, which is a far cry from the eight titles won in an decade of dominance between 2008-09 and 2018-2019.
Having spent the whole of that period coming through the youth ranks at Barca, defender Eric Garcia is eager to help his side return to the top.
"Barcelona made the generation that was seen, at the time, as something unique," said Garcia, who returned to Catalonia last year following three years with Manchester City.
"We are here to obviously return the club to where it needs to be, with a lot of ambition, with a lot of desire.
"We are young people combined with people who have been in the club for a long time at a very high level, and between all of us, we are all in the same mindset.
"We are eager to get the club back to where it deserves as well as that win that it deserves. From there, we will be fine."
Coventry City 2-3 Hull City: Tigers win five-goal thriller to keep play-off hopes alive
Hull City kept their hopes of gatecrashing the Championship play-offs alive with a thrilling 3-2 win over beaten FA Cup semi-finalists Coventry City on Wednesday.
Noah Ohio scored the winner with his first touch after coming on as a second-half substitute as Hull moved within three points of sixth-placed Norwich City with two games to play.
Coventry, meanwhile, saw their own hopes of returning to Wembley Stadium for a second successive play-off final all but ended, as they sit six points further back with three matches remaining.
Three days on from their remarkable comeback against Manchester United, the Sky Blues twice fought back to level things at Coventry Building Society Arena. Jaden Philogene's shot squirmed under goalkeeper Bradley Collins to put Hull ahead 31 minutes in, but Kasey Palmer levelled within five minutes with a stunning free-kick.
Hull went back ahead in controversial circumstances on the stroke of half-time, Liverpool loanee Fabio Carvalho converting from the penalty spot despite replays showing Joel Latibeaudiere's foul on Liam Delap took place outside the area.
Mark Robins' men again dragged themselves back into the game as Bobby Thomas headed Jay Dasilva's cross in just before the hour mark, but it was Liam Rosenior's visitors who found a winner.
Thomas went from hero to villain as his poor back pass sold Collins short, and Ohio got a toe to the ball to score the winner, keeping Hull's hopes of Premier League football intact.
Van Dijk: Liverpool have 'no chance' in title race after derby defeat
Virgil van Dijk conceded Liverpool might be out of the Premier League title race after they suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Everton in Wednesday's Merseyside derby.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored in either half to give the Toffees their first win over Liverpool at Goodison Park since 2010.
Liverpool struggled to find a way through the Toffees' defence despite dominating for long periods, and the Reds' captain says they will not outlast Arsenal and Manchester City without major improvements.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Van Dijk said: "If we play like today, then we have no chance to consider ourselves in the title race.
"We have to just focus on the next game and that will be a tough one anyway, so we will see.
"We're very disappointed, in so many ways. I think everyone has to look at their own performances. Did they really give everything, and do they really want to win the league?
"We're still fighting and there are still games after tonight, but if we play like we did overall in the game today – not winning challenges and giving the referee a chance to give free-kicks like he did many times, then you have no chance to win the title."
Howe: Newcastle performance in Palace defeat 'way off' Spurs win
Eddie Howe admitted Newcastle United's performance in the 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Wednesday was "way off" the one that saw them thump Tottenham in their previous game.
Howe's men hammered Spurs 4-0 in their last match, but they never got close to matching the attacking verve from that outing and a Jean-Philippe Mateta double condemned the Magpies to defeat at Selhurst Park.
Newcastle didn't even manage a shot on target until the 87th minute, accumulating just 0.42 xG (expected goals) as the likes of Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon struggled to make an impact.
Only against Manchester City in August (one) have Newcastle recorded fewer shots on target in a Premier League game this season than their two against Palace, and Howe was critical of his team's display in the loss, one that all but ends their hopes of finishing in the top four.
"[It is a] bad day for us," Howe told Newcastle's club media.
"I thought we were disappointing today, especially in the first 60 minutes. We were way off our levels against Tottenham and our best levels.
"I thought technically we didn't deliver a good performance, and out of possession I don't think it was a particularly good performance either."
Newcastle were unlocked twice for Mateta to score by a Palace side who themselves only generated 0.88 xG.
Howe was left frustrated by the manner in which his side conceded, adding: "I think we'll be disappointed with our performance technically today, and that's probably epitomised by the two goals where we're disappointed with how we've given them the ball in those situations and then how we defended.
"I think the goals sum up aspects of our performance where there was some good, lots of moments that could have led to opportunities, but we were slow to shoot around the box," he said.
The defeat, combined with Manchester United's 4-2 win over Sheffield United, means Newcastle drop to seventh, while eighth-placed West Ham are two points behind with a game in hand.
Newcastle have now lost eight of their last 11 Premier League away games, while they have lost on four occasions in London in the league this term, only doing so more times in a Premier League season in 2000-01 and 2005-06 (both five).
It's been a disappointing season for Howe and his side, especially compared to the heroics of last term when Newcastle finished in the top four, and the Magpies boss knows there's work to be done to get back to those levels.
"It's a day that we have to take our punishment, deal with it, and then try and improve," Howe continued. "It's frustrating because we know we're capable of much better."
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