Xavi Hernandez admitted to making mistakes during FC Barcelona's Champions League quarterfinal knockout to Paris Saint-Germain on the eve of El Clasico.
The Catalans took an early 1-0 lead through Raphinha during the PSG
tie's second leg at the Montjuic Stadium, which sealed a 4-2 aggregate
square.
Then approaching the half hour mark, Ronald Araujo was red carded for a
moment of madness with Xavi also being dismissed himself as Barca went
on its way to losing 4-1 and crashing out 6-4 overall.
"The other day we weren't right, I was wrong too... We have to be
self-critical, and the players will do the same for the Champions
League," Xavi said at a pre-match press conference on Saturday, ahead of
his team meeting bitter rivals Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
"I made a mistake with the sending off, it was a frustrating situation.
We didn't minimize mistakes, we had a golden opportunity and we let it
go."
Ronald Araujo was criticized by teammate Ilkay Gundogan for hacking down the last man in Bradley Barcola, which left their side with 10 players.
Asked if he had to intervene and play peacemaker between the pair, Xavi
said: "When there's no bad intention, there's no problem. It's all
settled."
With the La Liga title which Barca won for the first time in four years
in 2023 on the line, Xavi said that he is "thinking positively" about
the Clasico and "about playing a good game and winning".
"That's what I'm preparing for. We're going to go out and win," he vowed.
Xavi doesn't believe that his team has "bad numbers" this term, but
rather Madrid having "had a good year" has meant that it is the team
from the Spanish capital that currently leads the pack.
"We have to give it our all tomorrow to compete," he demanded.
As for his future, amid rumors that he could stay beyond his already
announced June 30 departure date, Xavi said that he hasn't been summoned
to any meeting yet to discuss the matter.
"I'm not important, tomorrow we're playing for our chances in La Liga.
For us, Madrid is the most important game of the season to put pressure
on and get within five points [of them]," he stressed.