Real Madrid right-back Daniel Carvajal and Barcelona manager Xavi were involved in a verbal altercation during the Clasico on Thursday (March 2), Spanish outlet Marca reported.
Eder Militao’s own goal in the 26th minute inflicted a 1-0 defeat on Real Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final clash against Barcelona on Thursday. Unsurprisingly, the encounter between two of Spain’s bitterest rivals was fierce, with plenty of tough challenges and verbal exchanges on the pitch.
Barca boss Xavi and Madrid defender Carvajal were involved in one such exchange in the second half. As reported by Marca, the incident began shortly after Carvajal’s tackle on Alejandro Balde near Xavi’s technical area. The Barca legend got involved and mocked Carvajal, wryly saying:
“You’re smart.”
According to Marca, Xavi later called Carvajal a “silly” a couple of times during the altercation. Pointing with his hands for him to continue speaking, Xavi would have said to Carvajal:
“Silly, you’re a fool.”
The Real Madrid stalwart also responded to the Barcelona manager’s insults, but the cameras couldn’t catch his retorts. The referee Munuera Montero finally intervened and asked Xavi to calm down, showing him a yellow card.
Barcelona manager Xavi praises his team’s “extraordinary” defensive display in the win over Real Madrid.
The Blaugrana secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Los Blancos on Thursday to put themselves in an advantageous position in the Copa del Rey semi-final. Although the result was in favor of Barça, it was Madrid that dominated the day, enjoying 65% of the ball. The Catalans strangely sat deep and frustrated Madrid by defending in numbers.
In a post-match press conference, Xavi admitted that his team couldn’t do anything remarkable with the ball, but praised them for their impeccable defence.
“We played well without the ball, but not with the ball. We didn’t know what to do with the ball”, said Xavi.
“However, we were extraordinary at the back, and that must be appreciated. It’s part of the game. I think we were exceptional today and we have to evaluate that positively.”
Real Madrid fired 13 shots in Thursday’s clash with Barcelona, none of them hitting their target. The culés, for their part, had two shots on goal in just four attempts.