Barcelona suffer 'undeserved' cup exit

Barcelona midfielder Xavi does not believe his side deserved to see the defence of their Copa del Rey title come to an end at the hands of Sevilla last night.

Barca, whose cup success last year was the first of a record-breaking six trophies in 2009, were knocked out at the last-16 stage on the away goals rule despite winning this evening's second leg at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan 1-0.

Following a goalless first half, Barca laid siege to the Sevilla goal after the break but a mixture of indifferent finishing, the woodwork and a brilliant display by home goalkeeper Andres Palop meant they could only find the breakthrough once.

Xavi, who scored that solitary goal in the 64th minute, was quoted in AS saying: "I'm angry, we deserved to go through.

"It doesn't serve anything to have played well (and still be knocked out). We've lacked a goal and we are out, that's the reality.

"We've shown that we wanted to win the game and the tie. We've given a good impression of ourselves and shown ourselves to be better than Sevilla, but we are eliminated."

Coach Pep Guardiola, who had won every competition since taking charge in the summer of 2008, added: "We had a good second half, we've been ourselves, but it wasn't enough. We've been knocked out being faithful to our style. We must bounce back in the future.

"It hurts us to be out of this competition. It's not good news even though people will say that we can now focus on the league and Champions League.

"In sport we are not taught to lose and this has affected us. As I said the other day, we aren't invincible."

Barca president Joan Laporta said: "Today I feel more proud of my team than ever. The players remained faithful to our style and we gave a very good image of ourselves.

"We need to congratulate Sevilla for their victory in the tie. We had our chances, but we wish the best for Sevilla.

"The tie was not decided today, it was lost over 180 minutes. We were superior here, but we lost at home."