Barcelona Loses Embarrassingly in El Clasico, Xavi Hernandez Apologizes Repeatedly

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez. (X/@FCBarcelona)

JAKARTA - Barcelona lost embarrassingly 4-1 against classic rivals Real Madrid. The crushing defeat in El Clasico occurred in the Spanish Super Cup final, Monday, January 15, early morning of Western Indonesian Time (WIB). Barca coach Xavi Hernandez repeatedly apologized for the defeat.

The defeat disappointed Barca because Xavi said that the difference between his current team and Madrid was only a hair.

Xavi has also warned Madrid that Barca is ready to defend the championship trophy when the final match presents El Clasico.

However, in the duel at Al-Awwal Park Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Barca did not move at all against Madrid. The Blaugrana defense was so easy for Vinicius Jr to break through, who was able to score a hat trick.

Vinicius even scored a goal when the game had only been running for seven minutes. And within 10 minutes, Barca's goal had been conceded twice.

"This is really embarrassing. I am very disappointed and feel sad," said Xavi when responding to the bad results in the final match. "But this is football and we have to overcome painful feelings," he said further.

Xavi admits that Barca lost everything. According to him, Madrid played very well both in transition and attack.

When they were 2-0 behind through Vinicius' goals, Barca hoped to recover after Robert Lewandowski scored a goal to reduce their deficit. However, Madrid then received a penalty which was completed well by Vinicius.

"We actually had a lot of hopes in this final match. But we actually showed a bad performance. We started the match badly even though there was a chance to recover. But then a penalty finished us off," he said.

"Madrid ruined our game both when counter-attacking and in transition. We apologize to the fans. We couldn't face Madrid. We learned a lot from this defeat. I also make sure that Barca will recover," he said.

Xavi has repeatedly apologized for his failure to defend the trophy in the Spanish Super Cup. He also stated that he was responsible for Barca's failure.

"This is the moment to apologize to supporters and accept criticism. Moreover, we did not show our true team in the final, especially against Madrid," he said again.

Barca missed the chance to win a trophy, but they still have hope in the Copa del Rey. In the round of 16, los Cules will meet a team from the third division Unionistas and then face Real Betis in the Spanish La Liga.

Barca also still survives in the Champions League. Qualifying for the round of 16, they met Italian Serie A champions, Napoli.

On the other hand, in domestic competition, Barca has been left behind by Madrid, who leads the standings. Sitting in fourth place, Barca is below Madrid, Girona and Atletico Madrid. Barca, which has 41 points, is still eight points behind Madrid.