Xavi happy with Barcelona’s win despite ‘unfair’ red card
Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez was happy with the club’s performance despite his “unfair” red card dismissal.
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“We’ve been brilliant”
The Catalan squad secured a 3-0 road win over Atletico Madrid to climb second in the La Liga standings with 64 points.
Loanee Joao Felix from Atletico opened the floodgates in the 38th minute.
Robert Lewandowski and Fermin Lopez came alive in the second half and sealed the deal for Barcelona.
Xavi, 43, hailed his squad for their “brilliant” game following their trip to the Champions League quarterfinals.
“We’ve been brilliant. It was a similar game to the one against Napoli. Robert [Lewandowski] has been very active. Fermin [Lopez], Joao [Felix] … We found the third man. It was an ideal match for our philosophy of play. The work we did went perfectly,” Xavi said.
The outgoing Barca coach also commended the team’s defense for not giving their rival an opening to score.
It did not matter that Xavi was sent to the stands by referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez for dissent.
‘Unfair and unnecessary’
The former Barcelona star protested to the official after seeing Lewandowski go to the ground under a challenge from Axel Witsel.
On his part, Xavi deemed the red card as “unnecessary and unfair.”
“The least important thing is the sending off,” he said. “The fourth official told me it’s because of the gestures [I made]. I make gestures because I’m passionate. The sending-off was unnecessary and unfair, but the important thing is the team.”
Barcelona will enjoy their nine-day international break before taking on Las Palmas on Saturday, March 30.
