For the first time in a season in club history, Barcelona lost a third consecutive fixture at the Camp Nou, as it came away with a 1-0 home defeat to Rayo Vallecano on La Liga matchday 33.

As was the case in its losses to Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal tie and against Cadiz last week, Barca simply failed to make the most out of its time on the ball in the clash with Rayo Vallecano. The Catalan side maintained a stern 71 percent of possession but logged a mere five total shots on target. The likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres did not record a single shot on target over the course of the match.

Speaking after the result, Barca manager Xavi Hernandez took some time to address concerns over his side’s recent performances at the Camp Nou, where he noted that the squad has “lacked a lot of effectiveness.”

“I leave angry, disappointed, because today was a golden opportunity,” Xavi said. “It's a repeat of what happened against Eintracht, like the day against Cadiz. We lacked a lot of effectiveness.

“I think we created a lot of clear chances to at least equalize. If we equalized with enough time, I think we would have won it. We have complicated our own qualification for the Champions League. We have to be self-critical and grow.”

After a strong run of showings in the early portions of the second half of the season, Barca has now won just two out of its last six fixtures in all competitions. At this point in the campaign, Xavi is aiming to see his side motivated to secure a top-four spot in the La Liga standings.

“We were all excited about that good run and those good games we played,” Xavi said. “We were looking forward to titles. That's the reality, but we have to motivate ourselves to be able to play in the Champions League next year. If we want to hear the music of the Champions League next year, we have to match their desire.”

Barcelona now has five matches remaining on its league schedule, which include its upcoming home contest against RCD Mallorca next week.