Xavi didn’t mince words after El Clásico: We can only lose the La Liga title to ourselves! What did he say about Real’s defeat?

It was the showpiece of the round not only of the Spanish top flight, but also of practically the entire football weekend. In any case, Barcelona did better in El Clásico, beating Real Madrid 2-1 with a goal from injury time. After the match, coach Xavi spared no words and declared that they can only lose the La Liga title to themselves.

Although Barcelona were the more active side in the match, it was Real Madrid who took the lead first when the ball was knocked into their own net by home defender Ronald Araújo.

The Catalans equalised with Real only towards the end of the first half. That was when Sergi Roberto got to the ball and his shot decided that both clubs went into the dressing rooms tied.

In the second half, however, the home side were slightly more active and better in the game. It was in the 76th minute when Robert Lewandowski’s shot just missed the left post.

Five minutes later, however, the visitors were delighted to score when Marco Asensio finished off Real’s action with a shot to the left post. However, the whole situation was subsequently investigated by VAR, whereupon the referee disallowed the goal due to offside.

It seemed that both clubs would part with the same points, but in injury time Franck Kessie took advantage of a huge goal scoring opportunity to snatch the lead from Barcelona. Xavi’s charges scored an important victory in the title chase.

The title is ours to lose

After Sunday’s game, Barcelona have a luxury lead of twelve points at the top of the La Liga table. How does the coach of the Catalan giant perceive the current situation? He has not accepted any congratulations so far.

“It’s a very important victory. It is well deserved, we dominated and created more chances. I’m leaving very satisfied. The team gave everything, this victory will boost our morale and confidence,” said Xavi in a post-match interview, quoted by 90min.

“It’s not definitive. I don’t feel like we’re champions anymore, but it’s a huge step forward. I’m happy because we are 12 points ahead with 12 rounds to go. It’s not over yet. We can only lose La Liga to ourselves, so we must not switch off and relax. There are still a lot of games left,” added the Barcelona coach.

LA Liga, 90min