Barcelona coach Xavi has remained pleased with the team’s performance in the 1-1 draw with Sevilla on Tuesday, despite his team playing with one more player for almost the entire second half.

Papu Gomez gave Sevilla the lead after half an hour of play in Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, but Ronald Araujo won a point for Barca with a goal at the end of the first half.

Barca overcame Sevilla but were unable to take advantage of the numerical advantage on the field when Jules Kounde was sent off for a direct red card after being hit unsportsmanlike by Jordi Alba in the 64th minute.

A victory for Xavi’s team would have meant rising to fourth place in the La Liga table with points equal to Rayo Vallecano, but Barca moves to seventh place with 28 points, two away from the top four.

“We have to be calmer when we play with one more player. We played very well in the first half and the team is growing. We put pressure when we lost the ball and we circulated it better,” Xavi said after the match.

Xavi believes that Barca lacked luck but feels proud of the players despite the draw.

“We needed to win to get into the Champions League zone, but I am proud despite the draw. We were not lucky tonight. I’m proud of everyone. This Barcelona is looking like the team I want to have,” he added.