After losing 2-1 to Man United at Old Trafford on Thursday, Barcelona was eliminated from the Europa League playoff round.
Still 'proud' of his team, Xavi.
In his opinion, Barcelona failed to manage the game against Manchester United because they lacked composure and patience.
Robert Lewandowski's successful penalty gave Barcelona the advantage during their Europa League playoff game at Old Trafford on Thursday night. However, Erik ten Hag made several substitutions at halftime, and United finished the comeback with goals from Fred and Antony.
Ten Hag moved Bruno Fernandes to central attacking midfield, Jadon Sancho to the left flank, and Marcus Rashford down the middle in the second half after bringing Antony on as a substitute, effectively winning the match.
Speaking after the game, Xavi praised United's effort following the adjustments and clarified what went wrong for Barcelona. In his press conference, the Barcelona manager observed, "I thought we played well at the start but lacked calm and patience."
Xavi is Still 'proud' of his team.
"We started the second half incredibly poorly; even though we were in charge of the game and dominating it, we needed to improve our game management, and we also lost duels. We could have been more aggressive; I believe we dropped some of those duels.
But generally speaking, I believe we lacked that little bit in our performance, and the second half showed the difference. I thought we played really well in the first half. We should be pleased with how we competed and presented ourselves to such a powerful opponent.
We had a great first half, so it's unfortunate that we now only have to concentrate on the league and cup. They added players throughout the second half, and they played with extreme intensity.
"We stood up today to be counted, and in the end, those little, finer aspects determined the game. We truly missed Pedro and Gavi since they are the players who decide games. We may not have had as many problems if they had played today.
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