“It was our fault”, “We woke up Bellingham” - Xavi shares feelings on 2-3 El Clasico defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga Netflix series
Xavi has admitted that Jude Bellingham stole the win for Real Madrid against Barcelona in April this year. The former Barca manager claims that they were at fault for not running away with all three points.
Speaking on the new Netflix series of La Liga, Xavi stated that Barcelona should have won the game after taking the lead twice. However, they ended up waking Bellingham and Los Blancos up.
Xavi said:
"We had the game in our hands and it was our fault that we didn't win. We woke up Bellingham & we woke up Real Madrid."
Andreas Christensen gave the Catalan side the lead in the sixth minute before Vinicius Jr equalized from the spot 12 minutes later. Fermin Lopez managed to make it 2-1 in the 69th minute for Barcelona, but the lead lasted just four minutes as Lucas Vazquez equalized for the Madrid side. Jude Bellingham scored in the 91st minute to seal the win for Real Madrid.
Xavi has been wary about Bellingham since the start of the year. Ahead of the clash in the Spanish Super Cup final, the manager said:
"We won't focus only on one player, or we'll become crazy. About Bellingham, I'd highlight his impact, his physical capacity and his technique. He's simply making the difference by playing in this attacking midfield role."
Jude Bellingham did not score in the Spanish Super Cup final, but Los Blancos ran out 4-1 winners. Vinicius Jr scored a hat trick, and Rodrygo scored the other goal for the Blancos. Robert Lewandowski scored the lone goal for Barcelona.
Jude Bellingham's goal vs Barcelona was the key moment of the season, claims Real Madrid manager
Carlo Ancelotti spoke about the Real Madrid title win in May and hailed Jude Bellingham. He claims that the Englishman's goal against Barcelona - a 92nd-minute winner in the first El Clasico of the season – was the key moment.
He said to Real Madrid TV:
"Everyone expected us to slip up and we didn't slip up. Bellingham's goal against Barcelona gave us the advantage. We had a lot of continuity from the first to the last game."
Jude Bellingham managed to score twice in three El Clasico matches since moving to Santiago Bernabeu. Both goals against Barcelona were injury-time winners, as Los Blancos sealed the title by 10 points.