Xavi Hernandez bemoans Barcelona's lack of aggressiveness in front of goal

Barcelona secured a hard-fought victory over Real Sociedad on Wednesday night, with a solitary goal from Ousmane Dembele proving to be the difference maker.

Despite dominating the match, the Sociedad kept themselves in the game until the final whistle, creating several opportunities to equalize in the closing minutes of the Copa del Rey clash.

After the match, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez had mixed feelings about his team's performance. While he praised the team's dominance, he also criticized their lack of aggression in front of goal.

"Most things are positive," he said. "After the goal, we spent 5 or 10 minutes relaxing and that can't be. We lack that aggressiveness in front of goal.

"Today we gave them the ball at a kick-off and we can't give it away. We have to go for 2-0, 3-0¦ and another. We have to be more aggressive and ambitious when the game requires it."

Xavi also acknowledged that his team has struggled to put away their opponents in recent matches. "We are suffering too much just to get the win," he said. "That's my feeling and on the day against Getafe¦ games that Ter Stegen or a defender saved us at 1-0¦ The only negative feeling is this. We have dominated a La Real team that had just won nine games."

Despite these issues, Xavi remained optimistic about the team's prospects, pointing out that they are currently top of La Liga, in the Copa del Rey, and with the Supercup. He concluded by saying, "Things to improve, effectiveness and killing games."