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Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez refuses to rebuke Ilkay Gundogan as he analyses the El Clasico defeat.
Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has addressed the strong comments made by Germany international Ilkay Gundogan following the defeat to Real Madrid in the El Clasico. He also went ahead to review the match, citing the reason for their eventual defeat despite an early lead.
Gundogan’s comment
As Pulse Sports reported, Gundogan was highly critical of his Barcelona teammates following the defeat to Real Madrid, as he believed that they did not express enough despair for a loss of that magnitude.
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Xavi Hernandez’s team suffered a 2-1 defeat to Los Blancos on Saturday at the Montjuic, despite going ahead first with a Gundogan strike. Jude Bellingham’s brace in the second-half handed Carlo Ancelotti’s team maximum points, breaking the hosts' hearts, who put in an admirable shift.
Given Barcelona’s performance on the day, Xavi said his team should have won. Speaking post-match Gundogan revealed that the dressing room did not show enough anger over the defeat, at least not as much as he deemed sufficient.
What Xavi said
The Spanish manager has played down talks of controversy, stating that they agreed with the German’s comments. He went on to explain that mistakes cost them the El Clasico, and like Gundogan, he also believes defeat is unacceptable.
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"The word conformity is not part of Barça's DNA. We are for excellence. We have not seen Gündo's words as controversial, we agree with what he said. We lost the Clásico due to our mistakes. We have not generated controversy in the locker room,” he said, per Barca Buzz.
"We had the game under control. We lost it, but we had it in hand. The details made us lose the game. Tomorrow there is another test and we have to get it done. We have time to learn, we are four points behind the leaders but there is time to recover.”
Meanwhile, the European football ruling body (UEFA) has announced a partnership with the organisers of the Ballon d’Or.
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