A "proud" Xavi said Barcelona fully deserved their victory against rivals Real Madrid on Sunday, which took the Catalans 12 points clear at the top of La Liga, while claiming any complaints from counterpart Carlo Ancelotti about Marco Asensio's disallowed goal must be a "joke".
The match at Camp Nou looked to be heading for a 1-1 draw, until substitute midfielder Frank Kessie scored the winner in injury time to hand Barca a significant win in the title race. A Ronald Araujo own goal in the ninth-minute had given Real an early lead, before Sergi Roberto levelled on the stroke of half time.
“It’s not decided, still a lot of games to play, but it’s huge,” Xavi said. “I think we deserved the win, we were better, we created more chances.
“The team really gave everything, we worked on defence and attack in everything. It’s a huge win for us. We gain a lot of confidence with this win.”
However, the result – and potentially the complexion of the title race – could have been different minutes before Kessie's winner when Real winger Asensio gave the visitors the lead, only to see VAR intervene to disallow the goal. Replays showed Asensio was marginally offside, but Real manager Ancelotti was not convinced.
"We did not win because of an offside that we're still doubtful about," the Italian said. "It was not so sure. We have doubts about it, and we go back to Madrid with this doubt."
Xavi, though, was left in no doubt about the decision. "It's a scientific question," he said. "It is clearly offside and there is no doubt. If people are talking about the VAR today, it's a joke. The offside is very clear."
The Barcelona manager had been left with a pre-match dilemma about whether to select Roberto or Kessie for the absent Pedri in midfield. In the end his decisions were vindicated, with Roberto scoring the equaliser and Kessie emerging from the bench to score the winner.
“I had some doubts, Sergi or Franck – who? Those were the two options I had,” Xavi said. “Finally it worked well because both scored. They were both heroes.”
Barcelona v Real Madrid player ratings
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BARCELONA PLAYER RATINGS: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – 7. Saved from Benzema in front of the huge 95,745 crowd, the biggest in the world this season. Got down to save again from Benzema on 79. Prevented Madrid getting the win they needed. AFP -
Ronald Araujo – 7. Played right-back to deal with the speed of Vinicius. Struggled with it and inadvertently headed the ball from the Brazilian into his own goal after eight minutes. Involved in the equaliser. Blocked an 85th minute Madrid attack. AFP -
Andreas Christensen – 7. Barely gave the ball away, even when he started to play long balls rather than pass out from the back as Barcelona usually do. Big win in a big – and impressive – first season for the Catalans. AP -
Jules Kounde – 8. Top defending. Cut out a dangerous Madrid attack on the hour – a big recovery. Celebrated like his side had won the league at the end, which, given their 12-point lead, they all but have. AFP -
Alejandro Balde – 7. Well organised and mature beyond his years but struggled with making his attacks against a top-level rival. Best moment was the vital cross to set up a 90th minute winner for Kessie. Booked. AFP -
Sergi Roberto – 8. The Catalan was picked above Kessie as the replacement for the injured Pedri. Smashed an early shot over the bar but equalised a minute before half time when he side-footed past Courtois. Booked. Scored four goals in 17 league appearances this season - as in his previous four seasons. Man of the match. AP -
Sergio Busquets – 8. Excellent defending. Poor pass let Rodrygo go for a shot on 62 minutes but kept the midfield discipline despite moments of Madrid play. “You can never say it’s over with 12 games to play, but we’re 12 points clear and that’s going to be hard for Madrid,” said his fellow midfielder Roberto. EPA -
Frenkie De Jong – 8. Set up Raphinha in the movement that led to the equaliser. His through balls between the Madrid lines were a threat. Best midfielder on the pitch. AP -
Gavi – 8. His usual will to win saw him charge back to try and stop the attack which led to Madrid’s second. It didn’t work. But the offside flag was in Barca’s favour to keep it 1-1. Picked out Lewandowski in an 87th minute attack, but it broke down. AFP -
Raphinha – 9. Powerful header saved by Courtois inside five minutes, then cut in from the right and saw a shot tipped over on 34. Booked for a 32nd minute tackle on Kroos. Barca’s best attacker and gave Nacho a difficult time. AFP -
Robert Lewandowski – 6. Rifled a shot from 20 yards after eight minutes. Worked hard chasing the ball, shot wide on 58 and volleyed over on 66 as the Catalans pushed to take the lead. Back heel to Balde led to the winning goal. AFP -
SUBS: Franck Kessie (Roberto 76’) – 8. Tried to run into the box. Scored his first Barcelona goal in the 90th minute, to send his side 12 points clear. The stuff dreams are made of. AP -
Ferran Torres (Raphinha 82’) – N/A. Bit part. Getty -
Ansu Fati (Gavi 90’) – N/A. First touch was in the Madrid box but Carvajal pushed him off the ball. Ceballos tried to kick him and was booked. As was Fati. AFP -
REAL MADRID PLAYER RATINGS: Thibaut Courtois – 7. Made a string of world-class saves and proved why he’s one of the best in the business in his position. AFP -
Nacho – 6. The defender was vocal and had good focus under pressure with some solid interceptions. Getty -
Antonio Rudiger – 5. German centre-back was confident at both ends of the pitch and had a nice aerial presence but shouldn’t leave so many gaps. EPA -
Eder Militao – 4. Looked off the pace whenever Lewandowski was putting pressure on him, especially for the winning goal. AFP -
Dani Carvajal – 5. Left more than a few openings on the inside despite his overlapping runs. Getty -
Toni Kroos – 5. Despite sitting deep, Kroos came across as quite lazy and lethargic when he was off the ball. AP -
Eduardo Camavinga – 7. Played a role in Real’s only goal, had solid positioning and pressure, and linked up with those around him nicely. EPA -
Luka Modric – 7. The Croatian’s wonderful vision paid off on more than one occasion, but he was left with a lot to do on his own in midfield. AP -
Vinicius Junior – 7. Showed wonderful ingenuity for the opening goal but needed some extra help when getting to the byline. Reuters -
Karim Benzema – 5. Went missing far too often despite some good pressure in the first half hour. AFP -
Federico Valverde – 4. While his movement was good, he needs some better link up play and improved finishing at every turn. AP -
SUBS: Ferland Mendy (Nacho 62') – 6. Got into good positions in the final third but should’ve stuck to his man for what proved to be the winner. EPA -
Rodrygo (Kroos 62') – 6. Showed solid physicality but didn’t do too much to influence the result of the game. Getty -
Aurelien Tchouameni (Camavinga 76') – N/A. Looked comfortable on the ball and was incredibly forward-pressing after coming on. AP -
Marco Asensio (Valverde 76') – N/A. Scored with what was essentially his first touch, only for it to be ruled out due to a narrow offside. AFP -
Dani Ceballos (Modric 76') – N/A. Looked slightly off the pace in what proved to be a brief cameo for the midfielder. EPA
Roberto agreed with his manager regarding Barcelona's position of strength in the table, while urging his team to take full advantage until the end of the season.
"You can never say [the title] is over but we have now gone 12 points clear so it's difficult for them," the 31-year-old Spaniard said.
"It's down to us and that's the most important thing. I'm just glad to have helped the team with a goal. It was epic at the end and I'm pleased for Franck to get the goal.
"The game swung when we thought Asensio had scored, it was ruled offside and we scored. It feels even better when you win with a late goal and it's fantastic to do so in front of our supporters."
