MADRID, 16 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The FC Barcelona coach, Xavi Hernández, affirmed that Real Madrid beat them this Sunday’s Clasico “in maturity and in knowing how to compete”, and although he was not entirely displeased with his team’s play, he did acknowledge that they had “specific errors” that cannot be committed against a rival that “takes advantage of their moments”.
“Real Madrid has beaten us in terms of maturity and knowing how to compete, I have the feeling that we have competed worse than them, that they know very well what to do at all times”, said Xavi Hernández at the press conference after the match.
The Catalan coach believes that they were not “bad” in the first half and leaves with “the feeling” that they played a “good game”, where they were “more aggressive with the changes” and in which in the end it did not go ” enough” to pull “self love”. “We had a very mature team up against us, which knows what it is doing and takes advantage of its moments, and we didn’t take advantage of ours,” he reiterated.
“I am concerned that we have not been at our level. We have been beaten by a great team, which does not mind closing in and playing on the counterattack. We are very disappointed and very sad, we are in a negative dynamic and we have to change it now, there are only three points and the league is very long”, added the man from Terrassa.
In any case, he assured that “the first goal cannot happen”. “You have to do it,” Xavi remarked that he considers that they should “mature through blows” and that they could have achieved the tie at two “without playing a good game.”
“We’ve had our moments to get something positive and then we’ve had occasional mistakes. We have to compete better and we’ve had three or four very clear chances, but we didn’t take advantage of them. Real Madrid minimizes mistakes and maximizes its potential, which is a lot and for that has been winning so much with this base. We are a team under construction and we have to mature to compete at this level”, he stressed.
However, he made it clear that the players were not to blame for the defeat. “I don’t aim at the players, I am the most responsible and it is also my mistake not to put more emphasis on what we had to do”, he clarified.
Now, the FC Barcelona coach is concerned about “everything”. “Especially when the results don’t arrive and we have to analyze why we are this way. We will be self-critical from the ‘staff’ also to improve and for the player to feel comfortable again”, he admitted.
“You have to change the dynamic. The long season and there is always a moment when you are in a rut. You have to be strong and continue to believe and work because I don’t understand any other way to achieve success. We have to recover and think about Thursday against Villarreal that this is already going on”, stated Xavi.
