‘They were better than us’ — Xavi on Barcelona’s El Clasico defeat

‘They were better than us’ — Xavi on Barcelona’s El Clasico defeat

Ifeanyi Ufomadu 05:51 - 06.04.2023

Barcelona succumbed to a crushing 4-0 home defeat (4-1 aggregate) against rivals Real Madrid at Camp Nou in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final.

Barcelona were knocked out of the Copa del Rey in disastrous fashion, losing 4-0 on the night to a resurgent Real Madrid side who, led by the irrepressible Karim Benzema, pounced on every mistake the Blaugrana made.

Real Madrid destroy Barcelona to advance to Copa del Rey final

Barcelona are in scintillating form in La Liga and the general belief is that the Catalan giants are on their way back to the summit of European football but this was a result that brought Xavi’s men back down to earth. 

For Real Madrid, The 4-0 win at Camp Nou was more than just a victory over Barcelona, it was further proof that on any given day, they can turn it on and nobody can stop them. 

Real huffed and puffed in the first period but truly came to life with three goals in the second half to obliterate Xavi's team, resulting in another cup exit for Barcelona. 

"When you don't kill Real Madrid, Real Madrid kill you,"

Xavi on Barca's El Clasico loss

Speaking after the game, the Barca boss was very honest about what he had just witnessed.

"When you don't kill Real Madrid, Real Madrid kill you," Xavi said after the match.

 "We didn't score at least one goal. They were better than us, and this is football."

Conceding four goals in a game is something we never thought we would see from Barcelona this season. 

This is a defence that is allowing just 0.33 goals per game in La Liga. They have conceded only nine times total and two of those were own goals. 

On Wednesday, they allowed four goals in a game for the first time all season, and it came in their home stadium against their most hated rival. 

"The second goal was really bad for us," Xavi said. 

"We are playing against Real Madrid, They are a great team and they showed their best level in the second half."

Barca will now focus on Monday night's LaLiga clash against Girona.