Barcelona head coach Xavi has described Real Madrid as the favourites in a match that saw his team suffer a 4-0 defeat at Camp Nou on Wednesday.
He made the assertion in an interview with newsmen after the highly intense game. “I’m not making excuses. I believe we played very well in both legs. I’d already said Madrid were the favorites”.
News About Nigeria also gathered that the duel which saw Barcelona crash out of the Copa Del Rey competition was the second leg semi-final game between the two sides.
Xavi noted that the game was a tough pill to swallow. “Tonight, is a tough pill to swallow and it hurts all of us as Culers. Now we need to react and move on, we have a league to win. We competed a lot better than the result says, it’s exaggerated”.
“In the first half we did very well, but in a counter-attack Madrid took advantage and scored the first. But it was really the 2-0 that killed us. It’s a shame but we have to be self-critical, it was a bad second half,” he added.
Karim Benzema in an outstanding performance, delivered a hat-trick for the Catalonian side and an assist to Vinicius Junior who drove home a solitary strike that saw Madrid progress to the final round of the competition with a goal aggregate of 4-1.
After the disappointing loss to their bitter rivals, Xavi maintained that his players put up a good fight.
With the loss, Barca will now turn their attention to La Liga, where they hold a healthy lead over the Carlo Ancelotti side.
