'We'll Bounce Back'- Xavi Apologises For Barcelona's 4-1 Thrashing By Real Madrid
Xavi Hernandez has apologised for Barcelona's 4-1 humbling at the hands of Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday.
Vinicius Junior's first half hat-trick and Rodrygo Goes' second half effort rendered Robert Lewandowski's expertly taken strike a mere consolation for the Blaugrana on a chastening night in Saudi Arabia.
Barcelona were then reduced to ten men for the final 20 minutes when Ronald Araujo was dismissed for a second yellow card.
Xavi reckons his Barcelona side were disappointing on the night especially for going down 2-0 in the opening ten minutes.
"We can’t come into a final like this. We’ve been awful in defence and in the high pressing," the Barca boss said at his post-match press conference.
"You just can’t start a final losing 2-0. Then we got back a bit with Robert Lewandowski’s goal, but the penalty, which wasn’t a penalty in my opinion, took us down again.
"Then the second half has been really bad. On the defensive side of the game, we did not stop their runs. We did not make fouls. They live off that, that’s where the first two goals came from. We knew it and work to stop it in training, but it didn’t work out.
"Not just as a Barca manager, but as a Barca fan I am very sad. That’s all I can say. Apologies to our fans but we’ll bounce back."
