Following Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Valencia, Xavi Hernandez confirmed that Ferran Torres was the club’s designated penalty taker.
Ferran had the opportunity to make it 2-0 to Barcelona in the second half from the spot but scuffed his penalty and hit the post.
Before the kick, the forward was seen in deep discussion with Ansu Fati, and it appears the two were debating who should take the penalty.
Xavi said Ferran was top of the list with Robert Lewandowski out injured.
“Before the game we already know who takes the penalties and Ansu asked Ferran. Sometimes the shooter leaves it to him, sometimes not,” he said.
“In the penalty there is an order and the chosen one was Ferran, but it also depends on the feelings that the players have. We are the staff and we decide.”
Ferran’s penalty miss could have proved costly but Barca managed to hang on for all three points, although the manager was not too impressed with his team’s attacking.
“We have to know how to kill games off. We had a lot of chances to do so and we didn’t do it, then with the Araujo red card, we suffered at the end,” he added.
“These are games when we should be talking about a comfortable victory, but the lack of effectiveness in the final third forces us to suffer. We were able to, though, even with a lot of players out and then with a man less.”
Barcelona now has a rare week off before their next La Liga match, which is a trip to Athletic Bilbao.