Xavi is adamant that his Barcelona side “deserved” victory against Real Madrid on Sunday, lamenting what he perceives as poor officiating that ultimately cost his team.
A late goal from Madrid’s Jude Bellingham secured a 3-2 win for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, with the 20-year-old scoring his third goal against Barcelona this season.
The defeat was a bitter blow for Barcelona, who held the lead twice through Andreas Christensen and Fermin Lopez, with two referee decisions leaving Xavi particularly aggrieved.
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Xavi was displeased with the penalty awarded for Madrid’s first equalizer and was further incensed by the controversy surrounding the decision that Lamine Yamal’s strike had not fully crossed the goal line. Unlike many of Europe’s top competitions, La Liga lacks goal-line technology, relying instead on standard VAR checks with limited camera angles.
The contentious decisions left Xavi feeling that Barcelona had been treated unfairly by the officials.
“We should take pride in our performance, especially in the second half,” Xavi asserted. “We controlled the game well and deserved the win.
“We put in a solid effort and deserved all three points, but they slipped away due to circumstances beyond our control and a failure to prevent a clear counterattack. We could have even regained possession in the final transition.
“We deserved better. We played well. We created opportunities. It’s reminiscent of the first game that set the tone for the season.”
Xavi refrained from directly criticizing the referees but maintained that there was clear evidence of Barcelona being wronged.
“Everyone witnessed it,” he emphasized. “They can penalize me if they want. The evidence is there.
“I can only analyze the game, and we outperformed Madrid. We lacked precision, but this is part of the transitional phase we’re in. We deserved the win.
“[Madrid] posed minimal threat to us beyond the penalty. The second goal resulted from a defensive error, and the third came from a transition that we failed to stop. It mirrored the first encounter. If you add six points to Barcelona and deduct them from Madrid, the La Liga title is within reach.”