BARCELONA: La Liga leaders Barcelona are the hardest club in the world to manage due to their critics always being ready to snipe at them even after big wins, coach Xavi Hernandez said Saturday.
Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Copa del Rey semifinal first leg on Thursday at the Santiago Bernabeu, but were criticized for only having 34 percent possession.
Xavi said the demands on his team to play good football as well as winning games and lifting trophies meant his job was trickier than any other in the game.
“You beat Real Madrid 1-0 and it seems that it’s not convincing enough, whereas if it was the reverse there would be a national party,” Xavi told reporters.
“So it is the hardest club in the world. Now you believe me? I said it last year and got bashed for it.
“At Barcelona you have to win and convince, to have 70 percent of possession and create 16 chances while the opponent makes three.
“That is the objective, and that is our objective, but you have to understand that there is an opponent who is the reigning La Liga and European champions, and we’re competing with them.”
Xavi said it was “absurd” to criticize Barcelona for not keeping the ball when they faced a Madrid side pressing them high up the pitch.
“We did not want to set up in our box, Madrid pushed us there, that wasn’t our objective for the game,” said Xavi.
On Sunday Barcelona face Valencia in La Liga, where they have the chance to move 10 points clear before Real Madrid face Real Betis.
Last weekend Barcelona missed a chance to extend their advantage as they lost 1-0 at Almeria.
Valencia, 18th, recently appointed Ruben Baraja as coach and they beat Real Sociedad 1-0 last weekend to bolster their bid to escape relegation.
“They defend well with Baraja, they are more aggressive, generous in their defensive work, very fast,” said Xavi.
“We come from the Almeria defeat, we have to change the mindset from the cup. We want three points but the opponent arrives in need too, they have a lot on the line.”
Barca the hardest club in the world to manage — Xavi
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Barca the hardest club in the world to manage — Xavi
- "You beat Real Madrid 1-0 and it seems that it's not convincing enough, whereas if it was the reverse there would be a national party," Xavi told reporters
- He said it was "absurd" to criticise Barcelona for not keeping the ball when they faced a Madrid side pressing them high up the pitch
Real Sociedad end Barca winning streak to tighten Liga title race
- The Catalan giants, who hit the woodwork four times and had two goals disallowed, now only lead rivals Real Madrid by a single point at the top of the table
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain: Real Sociedad damaged Barcelona’s title defense ambitions as Goncalo Guedes gave them a surprise 2-1 La Liga victory on Sunday as Hansi Flick’s side fell to a first defeat in 12 matches.
The Catalan giants, who hit the woodwork four times and had two goals disallowed, now only lead rivals Real Madrid by a single point at the top of the table after Alvaro Arbeloa’s side beat Levante on Saturday.
Hosts Real Sociedad, now unbeaten in four games under new American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, had Carlos Soler sent off late on but managed to hold on to triumph and climb up to eighth.
“I think we deserved to win today, we had a lot of chances, but in the end you have to put them away,” Barca midfielder Frenkie de Jong told DAZN.
“We played well but we didn’t win... their goalkeeper had a very good game.”
Sociedad shot-stopper Alex Remiro made several crucial saves.
“Three great points and a great game,” said Remiro.
“We’ve started this year in great form... this is the energy we have, how we’ve changed (recently).”
In a frantic start to a compelling game at the rainy Reale Arena, both teams had goals ruled out.
La Real had the ball in the net inside 30 seconds when Mikel Oyarzabal headed home Guedes’s cross, but had strayed offside.
At the other end, Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez drilled home from range but Dani Olmo had committed a foul in the build-up and it was ruled out.
With teenage winger Lamine Yamal keen to take on defenders, Barca got in often down the right flank. The 18-year-old teed up Olmo who fired high over the bar when he might have sent the Catalans ahead.
Yamal found the net himself but the goal was ruled out for an extremely tight offside, before Real Sociedad took the lead against the run of play.
Oyarzabal lashed home Guedes’s cross with a blistering volley inside Joan Garcia’s near post.
Yamal was felled just inside the area before half-time but although the referee pointed to the spot, a VAR review showed that the youngster was offside again and it was canceled out.
Remiro heroics
Barcelona turned up the pressure in the second half and Real Sociedad were left depending on Remiro and the frame of the goal to keep the Catalans at bay.
Olmo crashed a shot against the post from Lopez’s cross and then Remiro denied the Barca midfielder with a fine near-post save.
Remiro then tipped substitute Robert Lewandowski’s header against the crossbar with the save of the night.
Another Barca substitute, Marcus Rashford, eventually pulled the champions level, heading Yamal’s cross home after 70 minutes.
However, the hosts immediately regained their advantage after Barca goalkeeper Garcia initially saved Carlos Soler’s shot. The midfielder was able to gather the rebound and cross for Guedes, who fired La Real ahead again.
They should have got a third when Garcia, out of his goal, had no chance of saving Oyarzabal’s effort but Pau Cubarsi headed the ball off the line.
Barcelona came within centimeters of an equalizer when Joao Cancelo, on his second debut for the club, crossed for Jules Kounde, who headed against the crossbar.
Soler was dismissed for an ugly foul on Pedri before nine minutes of stoppage time were added on.
Rashford hit the post directly from a corner kick as Barca pushed until the end but could not find a way through.
