Barcelona ground out a 1-0 win over Osasuna in La Liga on Wednesday as Xavi Hernandez started his long farewell as coach of the champions.

Xavi Hernandez said on Tuesday he felt "liberated" after announcing that he would step down as Barcelona coach at the end of the season.

Xavi's announcement on Sunday that he will leave Barcelona at the end of the season has sparked a flurry of speculation about his possible successor.

Only a few months after lifting the Spanish title, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez dramatically announced he would walk away from the club at the end of the season.

Barcelona's title defence was derailed as Villarreal romped to a sensational 5-3 victory in La Liga on Saturday with three late goals.

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said he will quit his "cruel and unpleasant" job at the end of the season after his struggling team were beaten 5-3 by Villarreal on Saturday in La Liga.

Inaki Williams raced back from Africa to face Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and sent Athletic Bilbao into the semi-finals by scoring a crucial goal in their 4-2 extra-time triumph on Wednesday.

Like Xavi, Almeria coach Garitano refrained himself from dissecting the refereeing decisions.

After Real Madrid scraped a controversial 3-2 win over bottom side Almeria and a treble by Ferran Torres helped Barca win 4-2 at Real Betis, Girona demonstrated their title credentials

Luis Suarez made a subdued debut alongside former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi as Inter Miami kicked off their pre-season tour Friday with a 0-0 draw against El Salvador.

Defeat snapped Madrid's 21-match unbeaten run.

Under-pressure Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said on Wednesday he would resign if his squad no longer believed in him following last weekend's heavy Spanish Super Cup final loss to Real Madrid.

Vinicius Junior struck a first-half hat-trick to fire Real Madrid to Spanish Super Cup glory in a thumping 4-1 win over rivals Barcelona on Sunday in Saudi Arabia.

"He is out and his recovery will determine his availability."

The Catalans beat Real Madrid in last year's final and will face their bitter rivals again Sunday after Los Blancos beat Atletico Madrid in an eight-goal thriller in the first semi-final in Saudi Arabia.

"It's a positive result, our play was positive in many moments, and we're in the last 16," Barca coach Xavi told Movistar.

Barcelona defender Joao Cancelo will be out for a period of time due to a knee injury he sustained during their win against Las Palmas in LaLiga, the club said on Friday.

Ilkay Gundogan stroked home a stoppage time penalty to grab champions Barcelona a barely deserved 2-1 win at Las Palmas on Thursday.

Barcelona forked out fees in excess of 100 million euros ($109.24 million) for Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele between 2017-19, but the club's financial issues mean they are unlikely to splurge on big new signings anytime soon.

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez called on his team to improve defensively in 2024 after a shaky start to the season.