Sergi Barjuan has urged Barcelona's players to add greater substance to their style as the stop-gap head coach pointed the way forward in the post-Ronald Koeman era.
The clash with Deportivo Alaves on Saturday may prove to be Sergi's only game as boss of the first team, with Barcelona eager to bring Xavi to the club.
Sergi's regular role is as coach to Barcelona B, and he has had precious little time with the senior stars since Koeman was dismissed on Wednesday, after a 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano .
Barcelona head into the weekend in a lowly ninth position, nine points behind leaders Real Sociedad, albeit with one game in hand.
They have played the same number of games as Real Madrid, who sit six points clear of Barcelona and already have a Clasico win in the bag this season.
Sergi believes Barcelona can get back on track and said in a news conference on Friday: "We have to be united, people have to come to the ground tomorrow.
"The way of playing will not change, but maybe some tactical concepts could provide the solution. The style is non-negotiable."
He added: "Tomorrow we have to win the game because LaLiga is open. We have to recover the idea of vertical football."
Former Barcelona and Spain defender Sergi will be without Ansu Fati for the game due to the teenager's knee injury, but Ousmane Dembele could be involved for the first time this season, with the winger back in training after his own knee lay-off.
Sergi said: "I want to put some joy back into the team and get them enjoying their football again. I need all the players to be plugged into turning this situation around."
Playing a vertical game, which would mean being more direct, would seem an obvious move given the personnel available to Barcelona.
Feeding the ball as early as possible to the experienced and capable likes of Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero may be the smartest option for a team who have struggled to find an identity since Lionel Messi's move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona have played fewer long passes (449) than any team in LaLiga this season, according to Opta data, but they have played the most possessional passes (6,364), as well as the most passes in the opposition's half (3,431).
Clearly, they are struggling to find a winning formula with their keep-ball game. This has not been helped by their finishing, with just 15 goals scored from an expected goals (xG) total of 18.7.
While Barcelona have lost their last two LaLiga games, to Real Madrid and Rayo, Alaves have picked themselves up after taking just three points from their opening eight matches and have beaten Cadiz and Elche back to back.
Barcelona have not lost any of their last 20 games at home to Basque opponents in LaLiga (W18 D2) since their 2-1 loss against Alaves in September 2016.
Alaves have kept only one clean sheet across their 16 away games against Barcelona in LaLiga, conceding 53 goals across those games. The shutout came in a shock 1-0 win in February 2000.
Sergi said of his opportunity to lead the Barcelona first team: "First of all, I would like to thank the club for the trust they have placed in me. Secondly, I want to send a big hug to Koeman because we have worked side by side these months.
"I arrive in a complex situation, but we are already working. We will have to look for the opponent's weaknesses and try to break their streak with our game."
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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