Xavi left fuming following non-call against Inter Milan
Barcelona failed their second test of the young season as the Catalan side fell 1-0 to Inter Milan in the Champions League.
The loss sees Xavi’s team fall to third place in Group C, three points behind Inter and six behind leaders Bayern Munich.
While Barcelona had a horrid display, Xavi and his players believe they could have come away with a draw had a penalty been awarded to them following a handball by Denzel Dumfries.
Increíble no pitar penalty. Increíble pic.twitter.com/UjFHslPFOO
— Alfredo Martínez (@Alfremartinezz) October 4, 2022
Somehow, even under VAR, review a penalty wasn’t give to Barcelona.
Needless to say, Xavi was none too pleased.
“I’m angry. The referees should come out and explain their decisions because we don’t understand anything,” Xavi said. ” I asked the referee to explain his decision after the match and he refused. What we lived today is injustice.”
Barcelona have every right to be upset they weren’t given a penalty. Especially when two different processes were applied. Pedri’s goal was disallowed after a VAR check which deemed an Ansu Fati handball following a poor attempt to clear the ball by Andre Onana. However, on the Dumfries handball, the referee didn’t check the monitor, rather he waited for the VAR referee to make the call.
Sergi Roberto echoed similar statements as Xavi after the game.
https://twitter.com/barcacentre/status/1577405953271599130
What compounds the Catalans’ ire is a draw would have made their qualification out of their group stage less tenuous than it has become. They essentially face a must win game next week against Inter Milan at the Camp Nou.
Regardless of the non-call, it should not mask the fact Barcelona had one of their poorest games of the season. Against Bayern Munich, they were unlucky not to get something out of the game as they were the better team in the first half and created a number of goal scoring opportunities.
This time around, while they had the bulk of the possession, they couldn’t create many, if any, opportunities. They had plenty of corner kicks but were unable to do anything with them.
Next. Three talking points from Barcelona’s loss to Inter. dark
The non-penalty call gives Barcelona something to point at and say they were hard done. Even if that is the case, they need to play better and they need to do it quick. The last thing they want is to be knocked out in the group stage of the Champions League for a second consecutive season.