Xavi Hernandez admitted to making mistakes during FC Barcelona's Champions League quarterfinal knockout to Paris Saint-Germain on the eve of El Clasico.
The Catalans took an early 1-0 lead through Raphinha during the PSG tie's second leg at the Montjuic Stadium, which sealed a 4-2 aggregate square.
Then approaching the half hour mark, Ronald Araujo was red-carded for a moment of madness with Xavi also being dismissed himself as Barca went on its way to losing 4-1 and crashing out 6-4 overall.
"The other day we weren't right, I was wrong too... We have to be self-critical and the players will do the same for the Champions League," Xavi said at a pre-match press conference on Saturday, ahead of his team meeting bitter rivals Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
"I made a mistake with the sending off, it was a frustrating situation. We didn't minimise mistakes, we had a golden opportunity and we let it go."
Ronald Araujo was criticized by teammate Ilkay Gundogan for hacking down the last man in Bradley Barcola, which left their side with 10 players.
Asked if he had to intervene and play peacemaker between the pair, Xavi said: "When there's no bad intention, there's no problem. It's all settled."
With the La Liga title which Barca won for the first time in four years in 2023 on the line, Xavi said that he is "thinking positively" about the Clasico and "about playing a good game and winning".
"That's what I'm preparing for. We're going to go out and win," he vowed.
Xavi doesn't believe that his team has "bad numbers" this term, but rather Madrid having "had a good year" has meant that it is the team from the Spanish capital that currently leads the pack.
"We have to give it our all tomorrow to compete," he demanded.
As for his future, amid rumors that he could stay beyond his already announced June 30 departure date, Xavi said that he hasn't been summoned to any meeting yet to discuss the matter.
"I'm not important, tomorrow we're playing for our chances in La Liga. For us, Madrid is the most important game of the season to put pressure on and get within five points [of them]," he stressed.
