Xavi Hernández did not want to make "excuses" after leaving Barça through the back door of the Copa del Rey, thrashed by Real Madrid at the Camp Nou (0-4). The Barca coach praised the first part of his pupils, when they had their "moment" to finish directing a semifinal round that started with the advantage of the first leg, but regretted the collapse in the second half.
"It hurts all of us culés. We have to win the League no matter what. We have to be united. In difficult moments you can see how the teams are. We have competed better than the result says. We have made mistakes of not knowing how to compete, They have penalized us", the man from Terrassa, who conceded the defeat without palliatives, analyzed the game: "We must congratulate Madrid, there are no excuses".
The man from Egar insisted that they were "better" in the first part and after the restart they were guilty of a lack of "maturity" and "disorder". "They have surpassed us. The 0-2 has killed us. It has been complicated for us. A pity. You have to be self-critical", added a Xavi reprimanded with a yellow for his protests in the band, where he tries to "transmit passion to the players ".
The coach already warned in the preview of the game that Madrid was "favourite" to go to the final and insisted on that idea, in addition to praising the virtues of the whites: "Without dominating the game they go to rest 0-1. They take advantage their moments. We have to be honest, we are playing against the Champions League champion. Today we saw it, when you forgive them you end up paying for it. Football is about moments and we haven't taken advantage of ours".
"It hasn't been our night. It's a hard night to digest, but that's football," he had the same idea, in addition to avoiding remembering those absent due to injury Pedri, De Jong, Christensen and Dembélé, four key players on the team , since "it would sound like an excuse".
"During the season there are injuries. You have to try to compete without them. This is what happens when you don't compete well against Real Madrid", concluded Xavi, who at this difficult moment recalled the Super Cup title and leadership in the League, which they will resume next Monday, again at the Camp Nou, against Girona.
Consult all the results of the Copa del Rey.
