BARCELONA, 15 Apr. (SportsFinding) –
The coach of FC Barcelona, Xavi Hernández, lamented the “fateful night” that the Barça team experienced after being eliminated from the Europa League against an Eintracht backed by thousands of fans at the Camp Nou, with a “disappointing” atmosphere for the coach , although “it is not an excuse” for the “bad game” played.
“It was a night to learn, a fateful night, because we had hopes, I think it’s the way. I’m disappointed with the atmosphere, it’s our mistake as a club. Today we expected the fans to support us, but it looked like a final match “, admitted Xavi in a press conference after the 2-3 defeat.
The Barca coach lamented the “bad tie” despite being proud in the final minutes and staying one goal away from extra time. “We needed a deafening environment and we have not had it. We have not complied and everything has gone against us,” he admitted.
“The problem has been more football-related, we have had control of the game in terms of possession, but we have not been able to take advantage of it. It has been a night to learn because we had hopes,” said the man from Terrassa, who despite the defeat stressed that ” It’s the way to go.”
On the stumble, Xavi pointed out that the goals against have been “more demerit” of the Catalans than “merit” of Eintracht. “We have not controlled the match in the losses, as in the second goal, the penalty is a mistake. You learn from mistakes, they say, because today it’s time to be self-critical, we did not have a good game or a good tie, that’s why we are out”, he added.
Asked about the atmosphere and the thousands of German fans in the culé fort, Xavi explained that it was a miscalculation. “Playing at home, this can’t happen to us. Thank the Catalans who have come. We want to know from the locker room what has happened, that they give us an explanation,” he admitted surprised.
“We have tried to focus on the game and we have not been well. But on the field we have not competed well either. We accept the defeat and congratulate Eintracht,” he settled on the subject.
Once eliminated from the ‘Europa League’, the coach highlighted the strength of the team and the next steps to follow. “Starting tomorrow, we’ll start thinking about Cádiz. We’ve tried. It’s football. This doesn’t stop and we have to keep believing in what we’re doing, but we have to be constant,” he said.