Xavi vented his displeasure after Barcelona’s humiliating 4-0 loss to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semifinals at Camp Nou. Despite having a one-goal lead from the first leg, Barca was unable to keep Madrid at bay in the second leg, ultimately losing 4-1 on the whole. Thibaut Courtois made a crucial save to keep Robert Lewandowski off the scoresheet as Barca controlled the first half. However, they failed to take advantage of their opportunities. Vinicius Junior of Madrid equalized shortly after, laying the stage for the visitors’ commanding second-half performance, which was sparked by a hat-trick from Karim Benzema.
The outcome infuriated Xavi, who acknowledged that it had been a challenging night for him and his squad to process. The defeat represents a lost chance for Barcelona to contend for the domestic Cup crown. It also heightens the pressure on Xavi to improve the situation at the team.
“It is a difficult night to digest. This is football,” Xavi speaking in a post-match interview.
“You have to compete better. We competed well until 1-0. They are moments that we have to stop. We could have also stopped the 2-0 moment. In short, they are details that we have to control.
“In the first half we were very good, but that’s what I said: football is about moments and we didn’t take advantage of them. When football is so even, you have to take advantage of the moments. We didn’t do it in the first half and they did in the second. They have been superior, no excuses.
“I already said yesterday that Madrid was the favorite. We cannot argue that they are a great team. They are the La Liga and Champions League champions and they do not forgive.
“When you don’t kill Madrid, they kill you.”
Despite being eliminated, Xavi’s squad leads Madrid by 12 points at the top of La Liga. He is optimistic his team can get past this setback and continue to compete for the title.
in his words:
“We had a very bad second half, but we have to get up,” . “Tomorrow we will get up with all the hope to beat Girona.
“It is a tough result, but we have to focus on the league.“
cc: SportingTribune
