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Barcelona suffered a thumping 4-0 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid at home in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday (April 5). They crashed out of the competition with an aggregate defeat of 4-1 as a result.
Manager Xavi shared a message to his team in the dressing room after the match. He urged his team to move on from disappointment and transfer their focus to winning the La Liga title. Xavi said (h/t Barca Buzz):
"I perfectly understand your anger because I am also angry. We had them in the first half, but then after 0-2 we got messy."
He added:
"Now is the time to get up, there's no time for regret, aware that we are having a great season and that winning La Liga is the ultimate price. A title that would make us touch glory and for which we have fought since day one."
Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Los Blancos in injury time in the first half before Karim Benzema bagged a second-half hat-trick.
Barcelona and Real Madrid have faced each other five times across competitions this season. The Catalan club have won three times and Los Blancos have won the other two.
Barcelona manager Xavi reflected on the clash against Real Madrid
Speaking to the media after the match, Barcelona manager Xavi moaned about his team not capitalizing on the opportunities to hurt Real Madrid during the El Clasico.
The Spanish coach said right after the game (via CBS):
"When you don't kill Real Madrid, Real Madrid kill you. We didn't score at least one goal...They were better than us, and this is football."
He further added:
"The second goal was really bad for us. We are playing against Madrid....They are a great team....They showed their best level in the second half."
Barca, however, still hold a 12-point lead over Los Blancos in the race for the La Liga title. They will be back in action on April 11 to take on Girona.
