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
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."
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In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
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One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
