Xavi’s sour grapes

BERLIN. – Barcelona manager Xavi delivered a frustrated verdict after his side were beaten 2-0 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League football on Tuesday night.

The Bavarian giants struck twice early in the second half to take control of Group C, with Lucas Hernandez nodding in from a corner minutes before Leroy Sane finished an incisive move. Barca managed more shots (18) than their hosts (13) at the Allianz Arena and were made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal.

Xavi acknowledged this in his post-match interview, admitting he was “p***** off” by his players failing to capitalise on the many clear-cut chances they created. The Spain legend was also deeply aggrieved by the way Barca fell behind from a set piece at a time when they had “the match under control”.

Speaking to Movistar TV, per UEFA, after the match, Xavi said: “I’m p***** off. I’m p***** off. I don’t like to lose – and we didn’t deserve it. I think we were better, we dominated them. We made six or seven big goal chances, but missed them and Bayern took their opportunity.

“We competed, we played very well and had we scored it would have been a completely different match. This is the Champions League though, you need to compete and you try to avoid the marking error at the corner which let them go 1-0 up.

“No way should our rival be allowed to score from a failure of marking at a corner when we have the match under control. Or to score down the middle on a counter attack. We must learn from these mistakes. We can’t let them off the hook so much.

“I’m leaving here pretty hacked off because this was a night to win. But I’m also feeling proud of the team. However, it’s about winning and we’ll need to compete better in crucial moments like the two goals and to be more effective when we create chances.”

Unsurprisingly, Xavi’s opposite number took a very different view of things. Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann said: “In the first half, Barcelona had the better chances than us; our final ball wasn’t quite there. It was much better in the second half, and our efficiency made the difference.” – The Mirror.