Joan Laporta has told Barcelona fans to "keep believing" as they head into El Clasico on Sunday looking to hit back from a midweek Champions League disappointment.
A 3-3 draw with Inter on Wednesday was a blow to Barca's hopes of reaching the round of 16, but a win against Real Madrid in one of the most anticipated fixtures in world football would be a perfect response.
The fierce rivals head into the match level on points, with the Catalan giants top of LaLiga by virtue of their superior goal difference.
Barca president Laporta urged supporters to maintain their faith in Xavi and his players, telling BarcaTV: "Keep believing. We have a very competitive team, with very good players who are going to bring you a lot of joy.
"Stick behind Xavi, he needs your warmth and confidence. That's what we will give him and we hope the fans do too.
"I have my full faith in Xavi and his staff, and also with the players. We have a great squad and I'm sure they'll bring us a lot of joy. We have a team to compete against anyone in Europe.
"We'll get through this. We won't ever stop working for what we want. This club has had all kinds of ups and downs over the years, but we have always bounced back. And we can still do that, from every part of the club."
Laporta acknowledged just how important Sunday's fixture could be in the title race, adding: "We're top of the league and there's a big game on the way at the Bernabeu.
"El Clasico is very important, whoever wins get a huge injection of morale and the loser takes a mighty blow. It's the kind of game you want to see. We'll go there with our heads held high. We have a team to do things there.
"I hope the players will defend the Barca shirt with the right spirit, because whenever you get knocked down, you have to pick yourself up again. We want to show how good we are and that we can win the league."
Laporta spoke of his frustration at not securing a win over Inter that would have put their chances of progressing in their own hands.
"It was a big game for us and I am sad and angry that we didn't win despite scoring three goals," Laporta said.
"It was always going to be a difficult group. We should have got a better result in Munich because we were the better team.
"And the refereeing in Milan was scandalous. We shouldn't play the victims card, but we were very unhappy with the match officials, and I spoke to UEFA about it afterwards.
"Financially, missing out on the latter stages of the Champions League is a big blow."
Drey Wright and Chris Kane on target as St Johnstone see off Livingston
Drey Wright and Chris Kane were both on target as St Johnstone signed off on their cinch Premiership season with a 2-0 win over Livingston to end the visitors’ hopes of a seventh-placed finish.
Saints, who confirmed on Saturday that Steven MacLean will continue as manager on a permanent basis after a successful interim spell, had little to play for with safety guaranteed, but put in a stellar performance on the day Steve Brown emotionally stepped down as chairman after 11 years at the helm.
Wright opened the scoring after 17 minutes when he capitalised on some slack Livingston defending to score, before fit-again forward Kane climbed off the St Johnstone bench to net his first goal since December 26, 2021 from the penalty spot.
Boss MacLean made just one change from St Johnstone’s six-goal thriller with Ross County as Alex Mitchell replaced Andy Considine after the defender picked up an injury in the warm-up.
Livingston were eyeing the prospect of European football earlier in the year but a significant downturn in form has seen them earn just 11 points in 14 games since defeating Kilmarnock in February.
David Martindale made five changes from the 1-1 midweek draw with Dundee United as Jack Hamilton, James Penrice, Jason Holt, Scott Pittman and Steven Bradley all started.
The home side’s bright start paid dividends as they took the lead after just 17 minutes. After Ryan McGowan’s acrobatic effort was tipped over at full stretch by Hamilton, Wright latched onto a through ball which bypassed the whole Livingston defence and he rifled past Hamilton.
Livingston offered more of an attacking threat after the restart and should have levelled when Holt’s cross found Pittman unmarked six yards out but he glanced his header wide of the target.
St Johnstone should have doubled their lead minutes later when Graham Carey’s low cross found Wright just two yards from goal, but he somehow sent his effort over the bar with the goal gaping.
Saints were handed the opportunity to double their lead from 12 yards after 68 minutes when Penrice brought down James Brown inside the box as he raced towards goal.
Substitute Kane was handed responsibility and he kept his composure to fire home into the top right-hand corner.
Carey missed the opportunity to add gloss to the score line as he hit the side-netting from close range.
And there was even time for St Johnstone legend Murray Davidson to make his 415th and final appearance for the Saints as he paid an emotional farewell to McDiarmid Park after 14 years at the club.
Dundee United’s relegation confirmed following Motherwell defeat
Dundee United’s relegation from the cinch Premiership was confirmed as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at Motherwell.
The Terrors required a victory and an eight-goal swing in goal difference to avoid the drop but they were unable to produce a great escape at Fir Park.
Kevin van Veen took his incredible scoring run to 11 consecutive matches by breaking the deadlock after five minutes – setting a new Scottish post-war record in the process.
United responded through Jamie McGrath’s penalty and Steven Fletcher coolly fired Jim Goodwin’s side ahead early in the second half, but Motherwell would come surging back.
Blair Spittal levelled after 69 minutes before Max Johnston grabbed a winner shortly after having a goal ruled out for offside.
Spittal saw a shot gathered at the second time of asking as the home side threatened in the first minute.
The opening goal arrived after five minutes when Sean Goss dispossessed Glenn Middleton and slid a neat through ball to Van Veen, who coolly rounded the goalkeeper before slamming the ball into the net.
United were in desperate need of a response, and a good stop by Liam Kelly prevented Middleton drawing them level in the 10th minute. Fletcher was then denied an equaliser by an excellent goal-line clearance from Paul McGinn.
Van Veen almost doubled his tally after he connected with Stephen O’Donnell’s cross, only for his header to clip the crossbar and drift over the top.
Referee Steven MacLean awarded the visitors a penalty following a VAR check on the half-hour which showed Bevis Mugabi to have handled inside the area.
McGrath stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick and he powerfully dispatched the ball beyond the reach of Kelly to restore parity for Goodwin’s men.
Mikael Mandron passed up a glorious chance to head Motherwell back in front when he failed to hit the target following good work from Van Veen.
Fletcher’s close-range header struck the outside of a post just before half-time, though the striker would complete the turnaround three minutes into the second half – giving their travelling supporters a glimmer of hope that they could orchestrate a miracle turnaround.
Peter Pawlett did well to link with McGrath before surging forward, and he teed-up Fletcher for the simplest of finishes past Kelly.
A superb save by Jack Newman prevented Mugabi’s point-blank header from finding the net and there was a further chance for Mandron before James Furlong’s low drive somehow stayed out after striking a post and flashing across the goal-line.
The equaliser eventually arrived with 21 minutes remaining on the clock, Spittal drilling the ball beyond the despairing Newman from the edge of the box.
Johnston saw a goal ruled out for offside as the home side continued to press and Goss really should have taken on a shot himself rather than squaring the ball to Van Veen who was hampered by a tight angle.
Johnston was not to denied second time around when he found the net again with eight minutes left on the clock, turning home Furlong’s cross to put beyond any doubt that the Tannadice side would be relegated.
Kilmarnock consign Ross County to relegation play-off with win at Rugby Park
Kilmarnock beat Ross County 3-1 at Rugby Park to secure their their cinch Premiership survival and consign their opponents to a relegation play-off against Partick Thistle.
The Ayrshire side knew a point would be enough to keep them ahead of the Staggies and out of the bottom two, but they made it a final day to enjoy for their supporters as goals from Brad Lyons, Daniel Armstrong and Kyle Vassell secured a well-deserved victory.
County gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Yan Dhanda reduced their arrears to 2-1 just after the hour mark but they were unable to enough to get out of 11th place and they must now overcome free-scoring Partick over two legs if they are to remain in the top flight for a fifth consecutive season.
Killie manager Derek McInnes selected the same team that started Wednesday’s 3-0 win at Dundee United.
County boss Malky Mackay made three changes to the team that kicked off the 3-3 draw at home to St Johnstone as David Cancola, Alex Iacovitti and Alex Samuel replaced Victor Loturi, Dylan Smith and Simon Murray.
After a frenetic opening to proceedings, County had the first notable sight of goal in the 13th minute when Iacovitti headed over from Jack Baldwin’s long throw.
Killie were generally enjoying the bulk of the possession but they had to wait until the 29th minute for their first proper chance when Christian Doidge saw a powerful header tipped over by Ross Laidlaw from a Liam Polworth cross.
The hosts had been knocking on the door and they took the lead in the 36th minute when midfielder Lyons got himself free at the near post to steer home Armstrong’s corner for his first goal since joining Kilmarnock almost two years ago.
Nohan Kenneh fired a shot just wide from the edge of the box four minutes before the break as County tried to find a response
The Staggies made a change for the start of the second half as Jordan White, who had suffered a head knock in the first half, was replaced by Murray.
Killie extended their lead within four minutes of the restart.
Armstrong was tripped by Iacovitti as he tried to cut into the box from the right and a free-kick was initially awarded. Following a VAR check, it was established that the foul had taken place inside the area and a penalty was given.
Armstrong stepped up to net from the spot, sparking chants of “we are staying up” from the home support.
County got themselves back into it, however, with a penalty of their own in the 62nd minute as Dhanda fired high into the net from the spot after Ash Taylor was deemed to have pulled Keith Watson in the box following another VAR review.
Dhanda then spurned a chance to equalise three minutes later when he blazed over after being picked out by a Randall cross.
But Killie were able to breathe easily in the 78th minute when Vassell headed the rebound in off the underside of the bar after he had two consecutive shots charged down in the box by County defenders.
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