'They were sh*tting themselves' - Gavi delivers pointed Clasico rallying cry after Barcelona are dumped out of the Champions League in contentious Inter defeat

In the wake of Barcelona’s heartbreaking Champions League semi-final elimination at the hands of Inter, Gavi took to social media with a passionate rallying cry, urging his team-mates and fans to stay united. The midfielder expressed his frustration over the controversial defeat, stating that the club's haters "didn’t want us to reach that final" and that they were "sh*tting themselves" at the prospect of witnessing a resurgent Barca. Despite the setback, Gavi remained optimistic, highlighting the team's potential to still end the season with three trophies against all odds.

Posting a long caption on his Instagram story, Gavi wrote: "It's really tough, especially knowing how close we were, culers. They didn’t want us to reach that final because with the season we’re having, they were sh*tting themselves. It doesn’t matter how many years it’s been since we won the Champions League — even though I know it’s really hard and I wish we could win it every year — I’m sure we’ll win it if we’re all together like we always are. I know it’ll come. No matter how fired up we are right now, we can still finish this season winning three titles — when people thought we wouldn’t win anything at the start of it. It’s been a really good season despite this slump. Let’s blow the roof off Montjuic on Sunday and go win!!!"

Barca travelled to San Siro on Tuesday in the second leg of their Champions League showdown against Inter, after the first leg ended in a dramatic 3-3 draw. The hosts came out of the blocks to crash Barca's hopes with two goals before half-time. However, as they have done so often this season, Hansi Flick's men climbed the mountain and scored three second-half goals, with the third one, scored by Raphinha, coming less than four minutes from full-time. Inter, though, would not be overcome, as Francesco Acerbi scored the equaliser in the third minute of stoppage time, before substitute Davide Frattesi put the tie to bed and the opposition to the sword by scoring a 99th minute winner in extra time.

As Gavi correctly pointed out in his Instagram story, Barca could yet finish the campaign with three titles. They lifted the Spanish Super Cup in January after beating Real Madrid 5-2 in the final, repeating the trick in a 3-2 win in the Copa del Rey final in April. They currently hold a four-point lead over Los Blancos in La Liga. Interestingly, Barca's next game is against Real on Sunday, May 11, in a fixture that could potentially decide the title race.