"Get ready to learn Chinese", "Doesn't play for the team" - Fans slam Barcelona star after 3-2 loss to Real Madrid in La Liga clash
Fans were upset with full-back João Cancelo's gameplay as Barcelona lost 3-2 against Real Madrid in the La Liga at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Sunday (April 21). The Catalan side lost despite having better possession (53%) in the clash.
In the 17th minute of the El Classico, a penalty was ruled in favor of Los Blancos, as Cancelo committed a foul against Lucas Vazquez, who lost balance and dropped to the ground. The Catalan side were leading 1-0 after Andreas Christensen opened the scoring just six minutes into the game.
Vinicius Junior successfully netted the penalty in the 18th minute, getting Madrid the equalizer.
Fans flooded social media with posts criticizing Cancelo for his performance while some even wished that he would leave the club. Here is a collection of their posts on X (formerly Twitter):
One fan wrote:
"Cancelo pls leave my Club o! Thank you for all you’ve done for us"
Another added:
"Barcelona need a LB cancelo needs to go back to pep"
"Cancelo en unawarness cost we all the 3 goals. Very poor yet he played 90mins," chimed in another fan.
One user said:
"Cancelo was marking thin air instead of Vázquez. Mistake after mistake by the Portuguese defender."
"Joao Cancelo has now cost Barcelona 4 goals in 5 days!!! Two against Ousmane Dembélé and PSG on Tuesday and two against Lucas Vazquez and Real Madrid tonight!, said another.
With the first half ending in a draw, Barcelona took the lead in the 69th minute with Fermín López's goal. However, it was short-lived as Madrid's Lucas Vázquez netted the equalizer in the 73rd minute followed by Jude Bellingham scoring the winning goal in the added time (90+1 minutes).
Barcelona boss unhappy with the refereeing in the El Classico
In the post-match conference, Xavi appeared to be satisfied with his players' gameplay in the Classico. The Barcelona boss said (via Goal.com):
"We were the best team tonight and we deserved to win. The future with those young talents will be bright for Barça."
However, the former Catalan midfielder expressed disappointment in the referee's decisions during the game, saying:
"I don't need to say anything about the referee, everyone has seen it already - if I speak they may sanction me, the images are there."
It was the Blaugrana's fourth consecutive defeat in El Clásico with Xavi as their manager. They last won against Real Madrid in March 2023.
Following the defeat, Xavi became the second coach in the 122-year history of El Clásico to lose four consecutive times. The first one was Irishman Patrick O'Connell, who coached Barcelona from 1935 to 1940.