Xavi Responsible for Barca's Latest Defeat
Barcelona's interim boss Xavi said, "Today, I made a mistake as a coach. I did not manage to motivate my players. I come out here and I recognize it.
Xavi admits his errorcan say what I have done wrong, not when others have done it… it would be disrespectful. During the talk, I thought we would come out very psyched, but it cost us in the first half. In the second half, we came out differently. We have to continue and stay in second place at least." For the first time, Barcelona has conceded three home games in a row in the same season. Sunday's match has landed the Blaugrana in the table's second position, but a top-four finish is still not confirmed.
Barcelona is tied with Sevilla, who has 63 points in five games. Atletico Madrid is two points behind in the fourth position, followed by Copa del Rey winners Real Betis with 57 points. Xavi is concerned about his team's home form attributed to their consecutive home losses to Eintracht Frankfurt, Cadiz, and Rayo. However, they have a week to prepare for their next match at Camp Nou. Barcelona will host real Mallorca on May 1, 2022. Xavi admits that his club is in a difficult spot right before the team's final five 2021-22 campaign matches.
According to Xavi, "We are in a difficult situation. We are still in the Champions League places but we have complicated ourselves because if we had beaten Cádiz and Rayo it would have almost given us the qualification for the Champions League. Now it's time to rest, disconnect and in the middle of the week we'll get back on and prepare for the Mallorca game."
Barca Could Have Received a Penalty
Xavi expressed his thoughts regarding a possible penalty Barcelona should have got in the second half. Alejandro Catena was aggressive to Midfielder Gavi in the penalty area, but referee Isidro Díaz de Mera dismissed Barca's appeals and didn't take action. Xavi declared that he was unaware of whether his team was wrongly targeted, but the match officials should be able to explain their verdict after the matches ended.
"I haven't seen it. Is it a penalty? I don't know. The referee would have to come out and speak. I can't speak for him. I don't gain anything by talking about the referees. I believe in their honesty. I don't want to think that they expressly whistle us wrong. They should go out and talk. We coach go out and explain ourselves. I try to be honest, remarked Xavi. Despite setbacks, Barcelona is focused on reaching the top four and entering next season's Champions League.