Xavi defends Barcelona’s victory against Real Madrid

Xavi Hernandeztrainer Barcelonapositively evaluated the victory achieved this Thursday against Real Madrid, in the first game of the semi-finals King’s Cupalthough he admitted that his opponent had “possession and control of the game” and they had to limit themselves to more defenses than usual without the ball, which he does not see as a betrayal of his game model.

He Barcelonawith an own goal by Militao in the first half, they won at the Santiago Bernabéu and await their rematch in Camp Nou with a small advantage (0-1).

“The first goal we had was to have the ball, but we couldn’t. We had unnecessary losses, they defended man by man, they tried to injure us, but we defended well even without the ball,” he said. Xavi, at the press conference.

“It was important to receive a little bit and I think we succeeded. We can control the game from the ball and in that sense it was not the game we wanted. We worked very hard in defense because there are moments of the season when the opponent can dominate you and you have to overcome. How to take the ball away from Modric and Kroos? It’s very difficult,” he admitted.

“The opponent made us play like this. Normally we are less precise with the ball, but today we didn’t make good choices in many moments. The opponent put pressure on us the whole game, they played one on one with three central defenders and they led us to this. We didn’t failed any model of the game, but defense is also part of the game,” he said.

The Barça coach assured that the victory will give his team “morale and confidence” to face the other goal remaining this season, the League, although he stressed that “we have to keep showing” what they are worth the next day.

“Today is Real Madrid He dominated with the ball and we couldn’t find a solution. It cost us. We could have equalized, but in defense the team was spectacular. I see it all the time Real Madrid very strong. We minimized it and today they practically did not create any chances”, he admitted.

“Despite everything, I’m not happy that I don’t have the ball, but there are other parts of the game. They beat us a lot physically, they took us on our field a lot, they subjected us to possession and had control of the ball, but we defended very well,” he said.

“They got tired Busquets, De Jong and Kessie. Defensive work must be appreciated. Today we had practically no chances from our opponents and that is commendable”, commented Xavi, for whom Real Madrid is still “the favorite in the match”.

“Physically, they are very strong. It is very difficult to win their duels and we minimized them. Vinicius, who creates six or seven chances per game, did not have a single one today. The work was outstanding and these things must be valued”, he concluded.

Second leg in between Real Madrid and Barcelonawill be played on Wednesday, April 5.