Barcelona all but ended Real Madrid’s hopes of retaining the La Liga title, as they came back from a goal down to stun Los Blancos 2-1.
Ronald Araújo’s own goal in the ninth minute made the Camp Nou crowd nervous. But as the game progressed, Barca found their footing and equalised through Sergi Roberto going into half-time.
As the affair reached its dying moments, many felt there was no goal left to script anything special. But Franck Kessié appeared on the scene and into Real Madrid’s penalty box to meet Alejandro Balde’s cross to send the home supporters into raptures.
However, before Kessié’s stoppage-time winner, Marco Asensio put the ball into the back of the net for Real Madrid. The goal opened the title race wide open for less than a minute before VAR flagged it offside. In his post-match interview, Carlo Ancelotti suggested he wasn’t fully convinced with the decision.
“It’s a joke” – Xavi reacts after Barcelona stun Real Madrid in La Liga
But Xavi wasn’t having any of it. The Spaniard made sure to highlight his side’s dominance, and insisted the discussion of the VAR decision after the result is a joke.
"“I’m surprised that Ancelotti has doubts about the disallowed goal, because it’s a scientific question. 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,” Xavi said.Source: SPORT"
After underwhelming performances in both the Champions League and the Europa League, Barcelona have found their mojo back through dominance in domestic competitions.
Having already beaten Real Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey, the second straight victory on Sunday will give Barcelona a lot of confidence for the remaining challenges of the season. Ancelotti’s side, meanwhile, will hope to overturn a goal deficit in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey and maintain their impressive run in the Champions League.