Xavi: 'The La Liga race is not over'
"This is a very important and well-deserved victory," Xavi said after the win at Camp Nou. "The result reflected the game's progress, because we excelled, dominated, created more chances and played better. The whole team played together and worked hard in defense as well as in attack."
On the Camp Nou field yesterday, Barca squandered two chances from Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, and then conceded first in the 9th minute. Receiving the ball from Eduardo Camavinga, Vinicius led the ball close to the touchline and then stretched out to hit Araujo, who changed direction to the corner. close, causing Ter Stegen to miss.
After that, Barca continued to play better and scored two goals at the end of each half. Sergi Roberto put his heart across the corner to equalize before the break, and Franck Kessie - the midfielder who replaced Roberto himself in the 77th minute - shone with a close-range buffer in the second minute of compensation to seal a 2-1 victory.
This result helps Barca go a long way in toppling rivals in La Liga. They firmly built the first place with 68 points, 12 points more than defending champion Real, when the season had 12 rounds left.
"We don't feel like champions, but this is a very important step," Xavi said of the championship race. "Barca have only lost 10 points this season and it's no coincidence. We defended very well and above all attacked very well tonight."
Xavi admitted he was "puzzled until the last minute" about choosing a starter between Kessie and Roberto, when Pedri was absent due to injury. Therefore, the Spanish coach is satisfied when both take advantage of the opportunity to keep three points at Camp Nou.
The match had a controversial situation in the 81st minute, when the score was 1-1, Marco Asensio cushioned the goal to net Ter Stegen. But VAR stepped in, drew and determined the shoulder of the Spanish striker was below Jules Kounde, thereby denying the goal.
Ancelotti doubted the VAR's offside identification lines and suggested that La Liga apply semi-automatic offside catch technology like the 2022 World Cup. Xavi was surprised with the statements of his colleagues and emphasized "Vietnamese Asensio clear taste". The 43-year-old coach added: "This is not a scientific thing. Without VAR, everything becomes more difficult. VAR makes everything fairer, especially offside. The determination of the handball phase. or penalties can be controversial, but offside can only happen or not."
Barca won all three El Clasico matches in 2023. Before the confrontation in La Liga yesterday, Xavi's teachers and students defeated Real 3-1 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup and 1-0 in the semi-final first leg of the King's Cup. Barca won three consecutive El Clasico matches in all competitions for the first time since January 2012, with Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho leading Barca and Real respectively.
"It's been five years since Real beat Real at home. Moreover, we conceded an unfair goal, but we know how to react. Last year, we were 15 points behind Real and now we're 12 points ahead of them." , Xavi is proud.
