True! Xavi really took over this broken and somewhat disjointed team that looked like they will be fighting not be relegated and gave FC Barcelona a spot in the top four. With the right addition to the team they will be able to compete for trophies.
Xavi has done a very good job at barcelona, no one even suspected that if xavi was able to bring barcelona to the runners up position as it is now from their previous position at the bottom of the table, I think if barcelona bring in some new players next season it would certainly make them can return to compete in the championship track as usual.
That's make sense. I think at this moment La Liga is not just about Real Madrid and Barcelona. Now there are Atletico, Sevilla and Real Betis which even though their points are very different from Barca and El Real, but we can assume that apart from Barca and Madrid, Laliga has several teams that can compete with each other with a point difference that is not much different.
I think what you are saying is true, this season there is starting to see stiff competition from teams outside the top 4 last season, but in my opinion, one of the reasons for the rise of teams like Sevilla and Real Betis is none other than the decline of teams like Barcelona and atletico, and that gives them an opportunity to compete in the top standings, but if barcelona and athletico can return to their best form next season I think sevilla and calves will be back like the previous season.