Xavi was disappointed by Barcelona s failure to win moments after they were romped by Clasico rivals Real Madrid 4-0 at the Camp Nou to fall to a 4-1 Copa del Rey semi-final aggregate defeat.
An Eder Militao own goal in the first leg at the Bernabeu meant Barca headed into Wednesday s return match on home turf with a one-goal advantage.
But a strong first half by Barca ended with a short period of play that would prove crucial, as Thibaut Courtois made a brilliant save to deny Robert Lewandowski before a sweeping counter-attack ended with Vinicius Junior levelling the tie.
Madrid then sealed their progression with a brilliant second half, as Karim Benzema s hat-trick put the 31-time winners out and set Carlo Ancelotti s men up to meet Osasuna in the final on May 6.
Xavi was left frustrated by his team s failure to match their first-half display, telling Movistar+: It is a difficult night to digest. This is football.
You have to compete better. We have competed well until 1-0. They are moments that we have to stop. We could have also stopped the 2-0 moment. In short, they are details that we have to control.
In the first half we were very good, but that s what I said: football is about moments and we didn t take advantage of them.
When football is so even, you have to take advantage of the moments. We didn t do it in the first half and they did in the second. They have been superior, no excuses.
4 Real Madrid have scored at least four goals against Barcelona in any competition for the first time since May 2008 (4-1 in LaLiga), and had not done so at Camp Nou since January 1963 (1-5 in LaLiga).
Punch.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose)
Xavi credited Madrid for their excellent second-leg display, saying: I already said yesterday that Madrid were favourites.
We cannot argue that they are a great team. They are the LaLiga and Champions League champions and they do not forgive.
When you don t kill Madrid, they kill you.
Despite the elimination, Xavi s men hold a 12-point lead over Madrid at the top of LaLiga, and he is hoping his team can put this setback behind them to kick on and claim the title.
We had a very bad second half, but we have to get up, he said. Tomorrow we will get up with all the hope to beat Girona.
It is a tough result, but we have to focus on the league.
