Xavi said his Barcelona side suffered a “real injustice” after their 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan put them in danger of a second consecutive Champions League group stage exit.
Hakan Kalhanoglu’s strike in stoppage time of the first half gave Inter the victory.
Barca thought they had salvaged a point when Padre scored in the second half, but the video assistant referee ruled it out for a tearful handball.
The defeat leaves Barcelona third in Group C, three points behind Inter.
It was a night of controversy from VAR decisions at the San Siro, the most notable of which came when Padre appeared to equalize on 67 minutes after Cameroon keeper Andre Onana went through a crowd of players and headed straight. Crossed towards him, allowing 19 players to do so. year to finish.
However, Fati raised his hand and the ball was pushed into his fingers at point-blank range as he put Ona under pressure. The goal was disallowed by VAR, and Barcelona manager Xavi was sued for complaining to the referee.
“The referee must explain why he makes these decisions, if he made mistakes or not,” Xavi said.
“I’m really unhappy today, I think there’s a real injustice going on.”
Ahead of the match, it was Xavi’s Inter counterpart Simone Inzaghi who was under pressure. His side are ninth in Serie A after losing four of their eight league games this season.
He had the added headache of facing in-form Robert Lewandowski, who had scored nine goals in his last seven games for Barca, although he had never netted at the San Siro.
It’s a barren run that continued for Lewandowski as he endured a quiet night in Milan, while Inzaghi celebrated a crucial win that put Inter in the driving seat for a place in the knockout stages.
‘We Have Three More Finals To Go’
The first VAR flashpoint occurred on 24 minutes – Eric Garcia clearly handled the ball in the area and a penalty was definitely awarded after video review. However, a minor offside was spotted in the build-up and Barca escaped.
An evenly matched game was then decided by Calhanoglu’s goal in first-half extra time, his low and well-struck 25-yard strike from a central position skimming past Ter Stegen across the turf. For the first Champions League goal in five years.
Barcelona offered little until the hour mark, when Dembele hit the post with a powerful effort from the left after a good build-up. Minutes later Padre had the ball in the net – but VAR intervened.
Despite the late stages being played in Inter’s half, they couldn’t go through from then on, with echoes of their most famous meeting in 2010 when a Jose Mourinho masterclass put his Milan side through to the final on their way to the treble. saw
There was one final VAR incident when Denzel Dumfries appeared to be handled in the area. However, it was ruled that he did not ultimately hit a cross with his wrist.
Xavi knows that the return match with Inter at the Camp Nou in eight days’ time will be largely decisive for his European hopes this season.
“We have three more finals to go,” he said. “It’s a game we’ve lost, but now we have two games from three at home and they’re real finals.
“We have to show more intensity. The first half was not good, we have to criticize ourselves – but of course we are angry today.”
