Xavi: Luck, injuries to opponents’ key players & referee the reason behind Madrid recent Champions League successes

Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez has attributed Real Madrid recent champions league success to luck and other factors.

Real Madrid became the first ever club to win the Champions League three times in row and have won the trophy four times in the last five years.

But before Carlo Ancelotti won in 2014 and Zinedine Zidane won it in 2016, 2017 and 2018 they had gone 12 years without getting to the finals.

Xavi who won four Champions League trophies with Barcelona attributed Real Madrid’s recent successes to injuries to their opponents’ key players, errors from goalkeepers as he mentioned Ulreich’s semi-final and Karius’ final errors.

Xavi who has never hidden his dislike for Real Madrid also mentioned the help they get from referees as a major factor to their success.

Xavi also pointed to Madrid’s luck in the Champions League, the latest of which was Mohamed Salah’s injury and Loris Karius’ errors in the final.

“Real Madrid had everything in sight. Injured players like [Paris Saint-Germain star] Neymar, [Bayern Munich’s Arjen] Robben, [Jerome] Boateng, the referees,” he told El Penalti.

“The most important Liverpool player was injured, Bayern goalkeepers [Manuel Neuer injured and Sven Ulreich’s semi-final error] and Liverpool.

“It seems like a witch, but the issue is that Barcelona have fallen asleep and it seems Barca are winning titles, but the others are winning the Champions League.”