"Win by playing well" - Barcelona manager Xavi takes cheeky dig at Real Madrid after UCL clash against Chelsea
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has taken a cheeky dig at rivals Real Madrid following their Champions League clash against Chelsea.
Real Madrid have booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals at the expense of reigning European champions Chelsea. However, it was by no means a straight forward victory for Los Blancos as plenty of drama unfolded over the two legs of the quarter-finals.
Carlo Ancelotti's side earned a big 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge in the first leg courtesy of a Karim Benzema hat-trick.
However, Chelsea did exceptionally well in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu only to go down to a late comeback from Real Madrid. Thomas Tuchel's led the second leg 3-0 at one point with an aggregate score of 4-3 also in their favor. However, Rodrygo's 80th-minute strike took the game into extra time with Benzema scoring the winner in the 96th minute.
Karim Benzema after scoring the winner for Real Madrid 🥺 https://t.co/zuNKRjT3fE
Barcelona manager Xavi has taken a dig at the Spanish capital club, claiming the Catalan club only demands to win 'by playing well'.
The 42-year-old has claimed that Johan Cruyff 'set a bar' for Barcelona and if they 'don’t play well', they are 'not happy'. The Blaugrana take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.
In his press conference ahead of the game, the Spaniard told the media, as quoted by Managing Madrid:
“Barca’s history has demands of us, not of Madrid. Our history for 40 years, when Johan (Cruyff) came, set a bar: to win by playing well. If we don’t play well, we’re not happy. That’s how we Catalans are. I don’t know how it is in Madrid — I haven’t lived there and I don’t know its idiosyncrasies”.
Xavi's side will be looking to book their place in the Europa League semi-finals with a win against Eintracht Frankfurt. The Blaugrana didn't have a great first leg in Frankfurt as the game finished 1-1.
Is the Barcelona manager right with his cheeky dig at Real Madrid for their aggregate win against Chelsea?
Barcelona were knocked out of the group stages of the Champions League this season and are now contending in the Europa League.
Real Madrid, on the contrary, have made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League at the expense of European champions Chelsea.
Xavi: "Real Madrid's performance yesterday? We, Barcelona, are looking at the history of the team. When Cruyff came, he laid down certain basics to play well. I don’t know about Real Madrid, but for us, we always have to play well." https://t.co/F5mo9gdsY0
The Blaugrana arguably have no authority to point fingers at their rivals for not winning 'by playing well'.
What matters at the end of the day is that los Blancos are close to winning the La Liga title and are Champions League semi-finalists.
Xavi has done a wonderful job since taking over at Barcelona. However, fans will hope he is focused enough to win his Europa League match before pointing fingers at their rivals.