Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said that his team is back after the crushing 4-0 victory over arch-rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Spanish Football League on Sunday.
Xavi's team provided a football lesson with a match that they dominated from start to finish, and might have deserved victory with more than 4 goals, had it not been for Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to protect his goal.
Barcelona is back
Xavi told reporters, "I'm happy, it's a fun night. Barcelona is back. Today we showed that we can match the great Real Madrid team at home. It's a great achievement to support our project in the future."
Xavi was one of Barcelona's most prominent players, and he is the first person to win as a player and coach with 4 or more goals at Real Madrid, after he was part of the Catalan team that won 6-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2009.
Xavi added, "I'm glad we were much better than Real Madrid. We played a great match. I enjoy it because I'm more than just a Barcelona coach, I'm a lifelong fan of the club, so evenings like this are the ones you will never forget."
Barcelona has not beaten Real Madrid for 3 years, a bad record that says a lot about the club's suffering in recent years.
"It was important to put an end to these consecutive defeats, the negative mentality and the feeling the club is going through," Xavi said.
The result provides a strong confirmation that Barcelona is on the right path after starting anew following the departure of Lionel Messi before the start of the current season due to the club's financial problems.
Summary of the "Barcelona Clasico" quartet 📺🍿🔝#ElClásico 0-4 pic.twitter.com/fG5ZLqi4Mq
— LaLiga (@LaLigaArab) March 20, 2022
From the bottom to the brilliance
The club bottomed by their standards, having slipped to ninth in the league when Ronald Koeman was sacked earlier in the season.
Xavi revived Barcelona, ​​who advanced to third place in the standings and has not lost since losing after extra time against Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup on January 20.
Barcelona scored 24 goals in its last seven matches in the league, scored 23 points from 27, and qualified for the quarter-finals of the European League.
"I was impressed by the way the players fought more than the four goals, how they ran and participated in every game, it's inspiring," Xavi said.
"I don't think we can compete for the title. Real Madrid lead by 12 points and we arrived too late, but the future is bright for us."