Xavi admits ‘it will be hard to sleep’ after Barca humiliation by Benzema and Real in Copa del Rey
Xavi Hernandez admitted it would be hard to sleep after Real Madrid crushed Barcelona 4-0 in the Copa del Rey at Camp Nou.
Los Blancos reached the final 4-1 on aggregate after Vinicius Junior opened the scoring and Karim Benzema scored a hattrick in the second half of the second leg on Wednesday.
Xavi had led Barca to victory over their arch rivals in the last three clasicos, but Madrid raised their game to a new level to set up a final against Osasuna on May 6.
“We’re hurt, yes. It will be hard to sleep, more so as the big Barca fan that I am,” Xavi said. “I told the players [this could happen], we had chances but went in at 1-0. It’s a shame because we competed well in the first half and that was our moment.
“In the second Madrid were better, sincerely, they were better physically, they pressed us high. There are no excuses.”
Despite the defeat, Barcelona should still be able to win the Spanish title as they hold a 12 point advantage on Real Madrid in second.
The Catalans also beat their rivals in the Spanish Super Cup final in January.
“If we win La Liga and the Super Cup it’s a good season,” added Xavi. “There are 11 finals left, and we have to keep competing.”
Barca looked set for the final having edged a 1-0 win in the first leg of the semi-final in Madrid
last month. But after dominating the early stages of the second leg, they fell apart.
Vinicius Jr gave Real the lead in first-half stoppage time following a lightning counter-attack and the semi-final was turned on its head when Benzema struck a shot into the corner five minutes into the second half from a Luka Modric pass.
Eight minutes later Vinicius was fouled in the area and Benzema thumped his penalty past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
With jeers echoing around Camp Nou, Barca tried to respond but it was Real who looked more likely to add to their tally.
In the 80th minute French striker Benzema was again set up by Vinicius to complete his second hat-trick in a matter of days having also hit a treble in the 6-0 destruction of Real Valladolid.
Real will fancy their chances of winning the trophy for a 20th time when they face Osasuna in the final after the latter beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 on aggregate on Tuesday.
“It was a complete match. If you don’t make it complete, you can’t win 0-4 here,” manager Carlo Ancelotti said. “In the first half we had difficulties but the first goal changes the dynamics of the whole match.
“It’s a game in which personality and experience is a very important aspect. We mixed the energy of Rodrygo, Valverde and Camavinga with the experience of Vini, Modric, Kroos. They played a spectacular game.” As for Benzema, the Italian coach added: “The work during the [international] break has certainly helped him. He’s found his best condition and with the quality he has, he makes a difference for sure.
“He’s still one of the best players in the world at the moment and when he’s in good shape he makes a difference.”
Real will fancy their chances of winning the trophy for a 20th time when they face Osasuna in the final