- Benzema hat-trick fired Madrid to a 4-0 win
- Barcelona knocked out of Copa del Rey
- Xavi claimed La Liga is more important
WHAT HAPPENED? Real Madrid scripted another 'remontada' as they overturned a 1-0 deficit at Camp Nou, courtesy of a Karim Benzema hat-trick and a Vinicius Jr. goal, to knock out Barcelona from the Copa del Rey. After three consecutive El Clasico wins, the 4-0 defeat was a tough pill to swallow for Xavi, who insisted La Liga is more important than the cup competition.
🏆 TOP STORY: Benzema blows Barcelona away
📣 HAVE YOUR SAY: Is it time for Klopp to leave Liverpool?
🚨 MUST READ: PSG would be CRAZY to keep Messi
WHAT THEY SAID: "We have to focus on La Liga now, which is a more important competition than the Copa del Rey. We have 11 finals left in the league,' he stated. The manager also rued that his team failed to capitalise on their moments in the first half and the absence of several first-team players, including Ousmane Dembele, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and Andreas Christensen, did not help the cause either.
"This is Madrid. In the first half, they didn't dominate the match, and we created much more but they scored the first goal. We know it. It's how they won the Champions League last year. It's not an excuse, but I really would have liked to count on the injured players," he added.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, who had a tough time against Vinicius Jr., also echoed the thoughts of his manager and claimed that their primary target is to win the league after a gap of four years. "It's a tough defeat, but I am sure that this won't affect us a lot. Our most important goal is to win La Liga, after so much time," he stated.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
Getty.jpg?format=pjpg&auto=webp&width=3840&quality=60)
Getty
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT? Barcelona will look to brush aside their Copa del Rey disappointment and refocus on La Liga as they host Girona next on Monday in the domestic league.
