Xavi calls Barcelona's loss to Inter Milan 'real injustice'

Inter won, thanks to a goal from Hakan Calhanoglu in stoppage time of the first half

By Web Desk
October 05, 2022
Xavi — Twitter

KARACHI: After their Champions League group stage elimination was threatened by a 1-0 loss at Inter Milan, Xavi felt his Barcelona team had suffered "a great injustice."

Inter won, thanks to a goal from Hakan Calhanoglu in stoppage time of the first half.

"The referee should be out here explaining why he makes these decisions if he made mistakes or not. That would humanise them a lot more," said Xavi.

"Today I'm really unhappy. I feel there is real injustice."

When Pedri scored for Barca in the second half, they believed they had saved a point. However, the goal was disallowed due to an Ansu Fati handball.

Barcelona drops to third place in Group C after a loss, three points behind Inter.

Pedri appeared to have equalised on 67 minutes after Cameroon keeper Andre Onana cut through a crowd of players and palmed a cross straight to him, allowing the 19-year-old to finish. It was a controversial night for VAR decisions at the San Siro, with the most notable incident occurring when the decision appeared to be reversed.

But when he placed pressure on Onana, Fati raised his hand and the ball was shoved into his fingers at point blank range. Via VAR, the goal was disallowed, and Barcelona manager Xavi received a booking for arguing with the referee.

Before the game, Simone Inzaghi, Xavi's Inter teammate, was the one under pressure. After dropping four of its first eight league games this season, his team is ninth in Serie A.

He also had to deal with the hot-shot Robert Lewandowski, who had nine goals in his last seven games for Barcelona despite not having scored at the San Siro.

Lewandowski's dry spell continued as he had a quiet night in Milan, while Inzaghi celebrated a crucial victory that puts Inter in the driver's seat for advancing to the last round.

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