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9 months ago
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Barcelona crashed out of the Copa del Rey last night as they were beaten 4-2 by Athletic Club in the quarter-finals after extra time at San Mames.
The Blaugrana were off to a disastrous start as their hosts took the lead within a minute after kickoff, but Robert Lewandowski managed to restore parity for Xavi Hernandez’s men before Lamine Yamal’s golazo put them ahead before half-time.
However, Athletic Club scored early in the second period and with no more goals coming for the rest of the half, the match went into extra time where the Williams brothers, Inaki and Nico, scored to dump Barcelona out.
Xavi praises youngsters, proud of team despite loss
The pressure is back on manager Xavi as the Copa del Rey was seen as the best chance for Barcelona to win a trophy this season. But following the defeat, the 44-year-old insisted that he was proud of the fight his team had put up.
“We can be proud. We tried very hard and we competed until the end,” he said. “We have competed very well against a great team that is very strong at home. They’re very difficult and intense. I already said this since we got them in the draw.”
Urging everyone to focus on the two remaining competitions, Xavi added: “We have to rebuild ourselves and try to compete for La Liga and the Champions League.”
Yamal had an eventful game during which he tasted success and anguish in equal measure, having scored a wonder goal before missing a gilt-edged chance to win it for Barcelona late in normal time.
“Lamine is sad because of the chance he missed, but he created that for himself, and he also scored a superb goal,” said Xavi. “We’re proud to compete at this level with so many young players.”
When asked what went wrong for his team on the night, he replied: “Again, lack of concentration and individual errors. I’m very disappointed, because I thought that we could really win this title. It was very difficult. Athletic deserved to win.”
“Again and again, we’re making individual mistakes that cost us goals. Their first goal comes from a miscommunication from Kounde and Lamine.”
“We knew that we had to avoid crosses, but they still crossed, and they still scored. Instead of minimizing individual mistakes, we maximize them.”
Out of the cup. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)The manager pointed out the performances of Yamal, Hector Fort, and Pau Cubarsi as some positives from the night, saying: “Hector Fort, Cubarsi, and Lamine all played very well.”
On why he did not send Fermin Lopez in, Xavi said: “I wanted to sub Fermin in, but I wasn’t allowed to because there were too many reserve players on the pitch.”
As for not calling on Vitor Roque, on whom Barcelona spent big and fast-tracked his arrival this month, Xavi explained:
“Vitor Roque is very young, but today we wanted to play Marc Guiu. Both of them will be alternating. Roque will be important too, he’s very young.”
The manager was criticised by fans aplenty for bringing on Sergi Roberto in extra time, from whose mistake Athletic scored their third goal. But Xavi insisted that the veteran players will continue to be important for him and that he sees all players as equal.
“For me, there are no starting or substitute players anymore. We need all of the footballers in the squad. Youngsters, veterans, everyone,” he said.
“The veterans will continue to be very important for us.”
On the team and his future
Once again reiterating his pride at how the team performed, despite the result, Xavi said: “Even though people will judge us only based on the result, we are proud of how we competed.”
On whether the team morale will be affected by the loss, he added: “The team’s morale will go up again if we win on Saturday. We had the match today. It was a coin toss, and it landed on their side.”
The result puts Xavi under pressure and he insisted that if he was unable to win any titles before the end of the season, he might be let go by Barcelona.
“Like any manager at a big club, my job depends on titles. “If we’re not competing well by the end of this season, the normal thing would be that I left the club. This is Barça; I know where I am.”
However, he added that irrespective of whether he stays or not, the Barcelona project has a great future, saying:
“This club has a very good future, and I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking about the youngsters that are coming through. That’s why I’m playing them, I want them to be ready for the future. I don’t care if I am the manager or not.”
Source: Mundo Deportivo
