Xavi Takes Swipe at Barcelona Players After El Clasico Defeat to Real Madrid

• Xavi was not impressed with Barcelona’s poor finishing in El Clasico
• the Barcelona manager is irked by his team’s wastefulness in front of goal
• the Catalans were defeated 2-1 at home by rivals Real Madrid on Saturday

Barcelona’s latest defeat to Real Madrid is not sitting down well with manager Xavi, who has blamed the loss on his side’s failure to convert their opportunities.

The Catalan club’s manager has taken a swipe at his players for not being clinical against the current La Liga leaders after going down 2-1 at home, thanks to a Jude Bellingham brace for Los Blancos.

According to Football Espana, Xavi was frustrated at full-time, but he admitted his players needed too many chances to secure a win in such a high-pressure match.

“I think we dominated for 60 minutes. But, we needed 5 or 6 chances to score and with three they scored two. We lacked effectiveness.”

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Barcelona are now four points adrift of leaders Real Madrid on the La Liga table, as they lie third with 21 points from 11 games played so far in the 2023/24 season.

Xavi laments ‘undeserved’ defeat

Meanwhile, Xavi believes Barcelona did not deserve to lose to Real Madrid after his side suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 loss at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in front of their home supporters, FORBES reports.

Barca had an early lead thanks to an Ilkay Gundogan goal but were defeated by a second-half double from man of the match Jude Bellingham, who scored a 92nd-minute winner for Carlo Ancelotti’s men.

Xavi has, however, promised that Barcelona will bounce back from the loss as he maintains the aim of this season is to retain the La Liga title.

Xavi speaks on Vinicius incident

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has revealed details about his encounter with Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior during the first showdown of the 2023-2024 El Clasico.

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The intense match unfolded at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Saturday, October 28, as Madrid grabbed all three points and bragging rights at stake, completing a 2-1 comeback victory against their fierce rivals.

As the Brazilian attacker prepared to make a move for a threaded pass, defender Ronald Araujo forcefully pushed him off the field, prompting frustration from Vinicius.