"We gifted them the match" - Xavi slams Barcelona stars' lack of maturity after 4-2 Girona loss
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has slammed his side following their La Liga 4-2 loss against local rivals Girona on Saturday, May 4. The former Spain international highlighted his players' lack of maturity and error-proneness, which cost them the game.
Barcelona needed a win against Girona to keep the title race alive and went in front twice. However, they failed to take their chances despite dominating the game (60 percent ball possession) which came back to haunt them, as Girona secured a comeback and won 4-2 after being 1-2 down.
The Blaugrana's defeat saw Real Madrid being crowned La Liga champions while Girona also overtook Xavi's side for the second spot. Xavi hit out at his players following the game, saying (as quoted by Sport Witness):
"It is hard to explain this. This is the summary of our season, we gifted them the match. We dominated the game, and we had it under control. We could not score a third goal and then we gifted three. This match shows a lack of competitiveness, a lack of maturity, and individual errors that should not happen at this level."
Xavi highlighted Barcelona players' tendency to make mistakes which has been costing his side on a weekly basis. He also congratulated rivals Real Madrid for securing the La Liga title, saying:
"Last season we reduced our individual errors, but this season we doubled them. They scored two goals in two minutes because of our mistakes. Michel told me he could not believe how they won today. We gift the matches to our opponents. It happened twice vs Madrid, now against Girona. Even against Paris (Paris Saint-Germain). Real Madrid won the most points, so yes. Congratulations to them."
In January, Xavi Hernandez announced his decision to step down from his position as Barcelona manager at the end of the season. However, he will stay at the club and certainly has a huge task on his hands.
Barcelona star claims they did not deserve to lose to Girona
Barcelona captain Sergi Roberto has claimed that his side did not deserve to lose to local rivals Girona on Saturday, May 4. Xavi Hernandez's side dominated the game and went ahead twice but ended up losing 4-2 to Michel's side.
Roberto, who started in midfield for the Blaugrana, has insisted that they played well and were unfortunate to be on the wrong side of the result. The Spaniard said (via Managing Barca):
"We didn't deserve this result. We played a very good match."
Barca have lost three of their last four games and find themselves third in the table behind Real Madrid and Girona.