Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez lauded his team’s performance against Real Madrid on Wednesday despite going down 3-2 after extra time in a thrilling Spanish Supercopa semifinal in Saudi Arabia.
Federico Valverde struck the winner in the 98th minute as Madrid recorded their 100th Clasico win after Luuk de Jong and Ansu Fati had earlier cancelled out goals from Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema.
– ESPN+ viewers guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more
– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
However, on a day when Pedri and Ansu returned from long-term injuries and €55 million signing Ferran Torres made his Barca debut, Xavi was happy with what he saw in defeat.
“I am sad and angry because the game was there for the taking for us,” the Barca coach said in his post-game news conference.
“We played with a complex in the first 20 minutes, but we got over that. It was a day to be brave. This Barca side can compete against anyone. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was still a step forward.
“The feelings are contradictory because we could almost touch the win. I’m sad because it’s a Clasico defeat and we miss out on a trophy, but we dominated Madrid for large spells.
“We lack some experience, patience, responsibility. We made mistakes. We could have stopped [Madrid’s] counters and been more responsible with the ball. But we’re close.”
Barca recorded 20 shots to Madrid’s 14 at the King Fahd Stadium and registered 53% of the possession. Madrid had the better chances, though, with Benzema hitting the post in the second half and Rodrygo Goes missing a late opportunity to make it 4-2 in extra time.
Carlo Ancelotti disagreed with Xavi’s assessment of the game, but he did give Barcelona credit for their performance in Riyadh.
“I don’t agree [with Xavi], the game was even, they had more possession and…
Source : espn
