Barcelona boss Xavi has said that his side picked up "three golden points" in Sunday night's La Liga contest with Atletico Madrid at Wanda Metropolitano.
Ousmane Dembele scored the only goal of the match in the 22nd minute, as the Catalan outfit secured their 13th league victory of the campaign to move three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.
Xavi has admitted that his team "struggled in the second half", but the Spaniard praised his players for navigating their way to an important victory in their first league match of 2023.
"We played well in the first 30 minutes. We controlled the match," Xavi told reporters.
"These three points give us tremendous morale and confidence in what lies ahead. We knew how to suffer and we won three golden points. We're candidates to win the league title.
"We struggled in the second half. We knew that it was going to be a tough match, but the most important thing is that we won the three points.
"I'm quite satisfied with the match as a whole. The idea was to dominate the match, but we suffered in the second half. You can't always play excellent.
"We had the feeling that they could have scored at any moment, but we also had a chance to score a second goal. You can't always control the match, but we did well because we knew how to suffer."
Xavi also hailed Andreas Christensen's performance, with the Denmark international helping Barcelona keep another clean sheet in Sunday's affair.
"Surely the signing of Christensen has been the less highlighted, but he has been extraordinary. I remember when people said that Real Madrid signed Chelsea's starting centre-back (Antonio Rudiger) and we signed the substitute," he added.
Xavi was also delighted that Barcelona showed that they could "win without Robert Lewandowski", as the Poland international sat the game out through suspension.
"It's important to know how to win without Lewandowski," said the Barcelona boss.
Jordi Alba was also missing for the Catalan outfit at Wanda Metropolitano due to a one-game ban.
"We had important players out, but we pulled through. They made us suffer, especially in the second half, but I leave the stadium satisfied," he added.
Barcelona will now switch their attention to the Spanish Super Cup, with the Catalan side set to face Real Betis in the semi-finals of the competition on Thursday ahead of a possible final against Real Madrid or Valencia.
