Xavi Hernandez, the manager of Barcelona, criticized his team after a humiliating 4-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday.
The Spanish champions were thrashed in Saudi Arabia by their Clasico rivals, and Xavi stated that his team performed poorly.
“We were lacking in every way and have to apologise to the fans, we did not show the level to compete in a final,” Xavi told reporters.
“It’s a heavy defeat, as a Barca fan I’m disappointed, we put on one of our worst displays of the season. This is not the image that Barca have to show, especially in a final against Real Madrid.“
Vinicius Junior scored three goals for Real Madrid in the first half, including two in the opening ten minutes, while Robert Lewandowski scored for Barcelona.
Rodrygo sealed Real Madrid’s win in the second half, while Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo was sent off for two bookings, both for fouling Vinicius.
Xavi added, “We did not stop counter-attacks and runs, we started in the worst way in a final, we were trailing for the whole game. We reacted well with Robert’s goal and then with the penalty, the game basically ended there.”
Xavi stated his squad needed to improve on their errors after the loss, but three titles were still on the line this season. He said, “It’s a trophy lost, we have to be self-critical (but) I still believe in the project and we can still have a great season. I think we can turn the situation around … everything continues, I’ve been in these situations many times, there’s nothing for it but sucking up the criticism.”