Xavi: 'I'd rather beat Real 4-0 than 1-0'
In the last encounter in the semi-final first leg of the King's Cup at the Bernabeu, Barca won Real 1-0. From the beginning of the 2022-2023 La Liga season, Xavi's teachers and students also won nine other 1-0 victories.
When asked about the possibility of Barca continuing to beat Real 1-0 in the match on the evening of March 19 at the Camp Nou, Xavi replied: "If given a choice, I would prefer the score 4-0 or 5-4. But. 1-0 is also a great score. It's difficult to score when the opponent defends well."
According to some experts, Barca is changing from artistic style to pragmatic. However, Xavi opposes this view. He thinks results and style are two different things. He also emphasized that Barca never changed their style, always actively attacked and never defended negatively. "Barca won the first European Cup with a score of 1-0 and no one said anything," Xavi recalled Barca's 1-0 victory over Sampdoria in the Champions League final in 1992.
He also said that midfielder Pedri did not recover in time for the match on the evening of March 19. However, the Spanish military leader is still confident in Barca's opportunities. They won Real in the semi-final first leg of the King's Cup at the Bernabeu without the best young player of 2021.
Barca are nine points ahead of Real. If they win, they are closer to the La Liga championship. However, in the opposite case, Real will shorten the gap to six points before the last 12 rounds. "Winning will be a hit on the scoreboard," Xavi insisted. "It's not decisive, but it will be a good push. After that, the winning team still has many difficult matches and points to earn."
Recently, Barca faced rumors of bribing the former deputy head of the Negreira refereeing committee for decades. This led to the reaction of the opposing fans. During the trip to Bilbao in the previous round, many home fans threw fake money on the field to mock Barca.
There is currently no evidence and official charges against Barca. Negreira herself also denied receiving money from the Camp Nou owner. "This case doesn't bother me," Xavi said. "People can say what they want. I know we won legally. I never felt that I won thanks to the referees."
As a player, Xavi won eight La Ligas and four Champions Leagues with Barca. The 43-year-old star also won Euro 2008, 2012 and the 2010 World Cup with Spain. After Xavi's peak, Spain continuously failed at the 2014 World Cup, 2018, 2022, Euro 2016 and 2021.
This season, Real beat Barca 3-1 in the first leg in La Liga. However, Barca won again 1-0 in the semi-final first leg of the King's Cup at the Bernabeu and 3-1 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup on a neutral field. After the match on the evening of March 19, the two teams still have the semi-final second leg of the King's Cup on April 5 at Camp Nou.
