BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Xavi Hernández says enough is enough after Barcelona lost 5-3 at home to Villarreal on Saturday, leaving them 10 points behind Real Madrid in the Spanish league. Told.
Xavi said this immediately after the heartbreaking defeat. It won’t last next season As a coach of the club he once led as one of the best midfielders in the game.
In one of the most eventful games of the season, Villarreal took a 2-0 lead before Barcelona scored three goals in 12 minutes to take a 3-2 lead in the 72nd minute.
However, Barcelona’s defense again conceded a goal, and Villarreal’s new signing Gonzalo Guedes counterattacked to level the score in the 84th minute. Striker Alexander Sorloth, who also scored two goals, scored the winning goal in stoppage time, and Jose Morales added to Barcelona’s woes.
“As a Barcelona fan, we cannot allow this situation to continue. We need to change the policy and the dynamics,” Xavi said, adding that he had made the decision before the defeat.
Barcelona were looking to bounce back in La Liga this week after being eliminated from the Copa del Rey at Athletic Bilbao. In fact, the loss to a volatile Villarreal only put more pressure on the team. Xavi in trouble.
Real Madrid bounced back to take the top spot in the league with a 2-1 win against Las Palmas, without top scorer Jude Bellingham.
“This is a big blow,” Xavi said. “We lost this game because of our mistakes. Today is difficult for me to digest as a coach, but I also feel very bad for the players.
“We achieved the most difficult part of turning it around and had chances to score more, but that’s when the problems started. This season we are paying dearly for our mistakes.”
Where is the defense?
Gerard Moreno scored the opening goal near half-time from a pass from Sorloth. Former Barcelona youth player Ilias Ahomak doubled his advantage by taking full advantage of the formidable control of substitute Joao Cancelo at half-time.
Barcelona got one back in the 60th minute through Ilkay Gundogan. Substitute Pedri González grabbed the second goal before Eric Bailly’s own goal put the hosts ahead.
Sorloth sent Guedes wide and beat goalkeeper Iñaki Peña from a tight angle to make it 3-3. The Norwegian striker put Villarreal back in front after Barcelona failed to clear the ball from inside the area.
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong said: “If you’re losing 2-0 and then go up 3-2, you can’t just let it go and lose like that.” “This kind of thing can’t happen in an elite team.”
Cancelo, like De Jong, supported Xavi and tried to take responsibility as a player.
“It was a real disaster,” Cancelo said. “That was the worst 45 minutes of my career.”
Barcelona’s defense, without injured goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, is crumbling in January.
Barcelona suffered a 4-1 defeat to Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, and on Wednesday they conceded two goals in extra time to lose 4-2 to Bilbao.
rally in madrid
Vinicius Junior and Aurélien Choameny scored second-half goals for Madrid in the Canary Islands.
After a first-half stalemate by the league’s top defense, midfielder Javi Muñoz put Las Palmas ahead in the 53rd minute off a pass from Sandro Ramírez.
“We played well in the first half against a great rival,” Munoz said. “But as we moved forward, they took a step forward and we took a step back.”
Vinicius Junior equalized in the 66th minute with a nice assist from Eduardo Camavinga. Choameni then came on as a substitute in the final stages and scored a header with six players remaining to complete the comeback.
“We played well enough,” Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said. “We played against a team that held the ball well and didn’t concede many goals. Our game plan was to control the first half and move forward in the second half. It was an important win.”
Madrid are two points behind Girona before playing Celta Vigo on Sunday. Madrid still have extra games left. Las Palmas came in 8th place.
Bellingham received a one-match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards. He and Girona’s Artem Dovvik lead the league with 14 goals each.
Other results
Real Betis won 1-0 against Mallorca, while Real Sociedad drew 0-0 with Rayo Vallecano.
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