Xavi, angry at so many mistakes

He ended up disgusted for having conceded so much to a rival that he did damage with very little

The numerous losses of the ball made him desperate and in Bilbao he only conceived the triumph

Xavi and Ancelotti, on their respective benches in the Riyadh duel

MANEL MONTILLA

13/01/2022 15:24Updated 01/13/2022 3:53 PM

“I am sad and angry.” Xavi Hernandez He was resounding and sincere after the semifinal of the Spanish Super Cup before him Real Madrid without having yet been able to digest the defeat. The Barça coach had high hopes for the game to be a turning point both at a sporting and mental level for the rest of the season. And glimpsing victory so close left him even more upset to see how the pass to the final faded due to a succession of errors in key areas of the pitch that had affected so much in the days leading up to the Saudi event.

Xavi wanted to win. That is why he risked with Ronald araujo six days after having been operated on for breaking two fingers of one hand and that is why he made his debut Ferran Torres despite having been absent for three months and opted for Pedri Y Ansu in the second half after two periods of three and two months of inactivity. And at times he enjoyed how his team cornered Madrid with a football that gave him no reward on the scoreboard and penalized him excessively against an opponent who took a lot of prize doing a lot of damage with very little.

That was the feeling of the coaching staff, burned by the accumulation of turnovers. TO Busquets he stole his wallet Benzema before 0-1 and in extra time it was Dembele who lost a ball that led to the 2-3 counter in which ‘spark plug‘he pressed badly and Alba threw herself on the grass to cut it instead of chasing casemiro. Ousmane He risked like no one with seven good dribbles but he was the one that had the most losses of the Barça (25) alternating merit plays with incomprehensible decisions.

Xavi He is not willing to chain more troubles, no matter how much the image improved and that is why he does not consider anything else other than winning in Bilbao next week and go to quarters of the Copa del Rey.