Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick in the second half to spur his team on to a hard-fought 4-2 victory against Valencia on Monday.
Valencia were up 2-1 until they were demoted to 10 men shortly before halftime.
With five games left, Barca overtook surprise package Girona, who are now in third place in La Liga, to reclaim second place with 73 points.
On Saturday, the two clubs will square off in a Catalan derby that might determine who finishes in the top two spots in La Liga and advances to the Spanish Super Cup.
After the match, Xavi praised the former Bayern Munich striker for his heroic efforts in the win for the Catalan club.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano on his X account, the Spaniard was full of praise for his striker.
The Barcelona boss avoided making any comment about the future of Lewandowski.
He admitted that he is delighted with Lewandowski’s performance and the contribution he has made to the team.
With 16 goals, Lewandowski is now the fourth-highest scorer in La Liga, one goal behind Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid and Alexander Sorloth of Villarreal, and three goals behind Artem Dovbyk of Girona.
La Blaugrana has benefited greatly from Lewandowski’s goals this season, as his 16 goals in the league have won the La Liga giants 17 points this season.
Barcelona are looking to strengthen their midfielder in the summer and Fabrizio Romano has provided an update about it.
