Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said Wednesday’s crushing 4-0 Copa del Rey semifinal defeat to Real Madrid is difficult to digest but insists it will not stain a potential LaLiga title.
A second half hat-trick from Karim Benzema and a Vinicius Junior goal helped Madrid overturn a 1-0 first leg defeat to set up a final against Osasuna in May.
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The loss ended a run of three straight Clasico wins for Barca, the first of which came in the Spanish Super Cup final and the most recent allowed the Catalan side to open up a 12-point lead at the top of the table.
“It’s difficult to digest,” Xavi conceded in a news conference after seeing his side fall apart in the second half at Spotify Camp Nou. “We were doing well, but we lost order after the second goal, maybe [it was down to] maturity, we have a lot of very young players. Madrid have these things. Without playing well, they have the lead at the break.
“If we had taken the lead, maybe it would have been different because we competed well in the first half. In the second half, Madrid were better. I said they were the favourites [before the game]. They’re the Champions League holders. They are a great team.
