With a goal in the rival's own goal and with an almost historic defensive effort. This is how Xavi's Barça won at the Bernabeu against Ancelotti's Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. Completely naked in attack, Barça gave themselves completely to defense. And the whites did not find offensive solutions. Xavi's men remained in 35% possession, a historically low figure.
"We didn't have the best game, especially in terms of possession, but it's an important victory. Madrid pressed a lot, it was difficult for us to get out of the pressure, a difficult game. We got a tremendous victory, it's always difficult to win in this field, but the team has fought. We are proud of how we have defended", summarized Xavi Hernández to begin.
Despite living in their own field, Barça managed to reliably protect Ter Stegen's goal. "We have hardly conceded, despite not having much possession, but the defensive work has gone very well. For us it is essential to be together and in a block, it is not what we always look for, but we took a fundamental victory", repeated the technical.
Throughout his statement, Xavi stressed the difficulties his team encountered in keeping the ball against Real Madrid with very effective high pressure. "Madrid presses you, they have commanded the ball and we have defended well without the ball. Our way of playing is with the ball, but today we didn't know how to do it".
The Egarense had no choice but to defend his team's defensive game and how with their work they prevented the whites from creating dangerous chances. "They have not had clear chances, we have made it 0-2 with a shot from Frank (Kessié) that hits Ansu Fati. We have defended very well, being supportive at work, and we have minimized Madrid", he pointed out.
"We have not betrayed any game model, the rival takes you there, but defending is also part of the game. Madrid dominated us with the ball today, we have not been able to get out of that pressure. We could have tied. I still see Madrid as very strong Today we have minimized it. Normally it generates many occasions", he explained.
"I am not satisfied with the ball. They have beaten us a lot in the duel. Today they have subjected us in terms of possession and control of the ball, but 35% is not the percentage we are looking for," said the Barça coach.
Lastly, he repeated that the whites are still favorites despite the victory. "I already said that Madrid is a favourite. They are very technical, physically they are very strong. Today we have minimized them. Vinícius generates six seven chances for you and today he has practically not done one. They are the current Cup and League champions" , he concluded.
For his part, Carlo Ancelotti was happy with his team's ability to take the ball away from an entire Barça team. "We played a good game, we put a lot of pressure up front. If Barça has 35% possession, it's because of this aspect, but it has been difficult to find opportunities because the defensive line was very closed," he said.
"It's the game we wanted to do but the result is not good. We have to repeat this game in Barcelona. Barça have defended very well and very low. We have controlled them very well. We have not allowed Barça to play as they want. We have to repeat it in the second leg", he repeated.
Despite the defeat, the Italian said he was "satisfied with the match. Against Barcelona it's very difficult to control the game as we did today. Aware that we have to come back, but it's not the first time we've come back from a tie", he assured .
Besides, it was very clear to the hour to criticize the Barcelona triumph. "He didn't deserve to win, it's obvious, although we haven't had many opportunities but we've had one of the best games in terms of high pressure," he summed up.
Lastly, he was confident about the second leg because "if we have this intensity we will have many opportunities. Barcelona cannot set up such a defensive game at the Camp Nou", he stated.
