Proud Of Barcelona's Game Despite Being Knocked Out By Real Madrid In The Supercopa De Espana, Xavi: We Dominate

JAKARTA - Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez is proud of his team's performance despite being dramatically knocked out 2-3 by Real Madrid in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup which was held in Saudi Arabia on Thursday morning.

Carlo Ancelotti's side beat Barcelona for the seventh time in eight Spanish Super Cup games but Xavi felt his side deserved victory.

"We hold it (the victory) in our hands," Xavi said at his post-match press conference.

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"We dominated Madrid for most of the game, but we still lacked experience, patience and effectiveness. We were close. We cornered Real. It's a shame."

Despite being the underdog in this match, Xavi praised the character of his players when they continued to corner Real Madrid.

"Today was full of courage and we left our problems behind. This Barca can compete with anyone," said Xavi. "We will go home angry and frustrated. We could have won. We took a risk and they took advantage of our mistakes."

Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti said the match was balanced.

"I think it was a game between two great teams," said Ancelotti. "They had possession but we conceded the first goal because we were unlucky. Nobody (a dominant or dominating team). We defended looking for counter-attacks. The three goals we scored were spectacular."

Ancelotti also praised his excellent duo Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr., both of whom have scored a total of 29 of Real Madrid's 45 goals in La Liga this season. However, he started to think about the physical exhaustion of the two players.

"It was a huge physical effort," he said. "However, we defended well until the end. Fresh feet coming off the bench did well. We are tired, but happy."