Barcelona star slams own teammates after Real Betis draw | OneFootball

Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsi admitted that he and his teammates "didn't give 100%" in Saturday's disappointing 1-1 draw with Real Betis.

La Liga's frontrunners eased into an early lead in front of their own fans this weekend. Gavi, a former Real Betis youth team player, finished off a crisp passing sequence to break the deadlock in the seventh minute. Yet, the contest was less than 20 minutes old by the time Natan headed in Betis' equaliser from a poorly defended corner.

The Catalan giants have been in record-breaking scoring form this season yet scarcely created many chances of note on Saturday night. Barcelona posted a measly expected goal (xG) tally of 1.3 - a figure they have matched or bettered in all but three league games this campaign.

Cubarsi put this noticeable dip down to the team's collective work ethic - or lack thereof. "We've been doing things well these past few days, but today we lacked determination and even more desire to win," the surprisingly outspoken 18-year-old seethed post-game. "You could see on the pitch that we didn't give 100%, and you can't win like that. We lacked the desire to finish the game off from the start. We gave them life and energy, and in the end, they were able to pull off a draw."

Pau Cubarsi was not impressed by Barcelona's draw with Real Betis / Quality Sport Images/GettyImages

"We tried to give it our all in the second half," Cubarsi added. "We didn't come out the way we should have in the first half. The pace of the game was slow, and I'll tell you, it was even boring for the fans."

There was no attempt to blame the congested calendar from Cubarsi. "We do have to put in some effort," the teen huffed as he continued his tirade. "We knew we were coming into the match with a heavy load and few days' rest, but that's no excuse if we want to win as many titles as possible because we are Barca. We ran too much against Atletico Madrid because the second half wasn't entirely good, and it showed today."

Raphinha demonstrated his acute displeasure with a verbal assault at the assistant referee in the closing stages of Saturday's contest. The Brazilian appeared to tell the official: "You're not telling me to shut up, you're not telling me to shut up! You're rude, ill-mannered." Robert Lewandowski, Hansi Flick and Marc-Andre ter Stegen all tried and failed to quell Raphinha's boiling temper.

Flick took a more positive view of Saturday's draw. "I'm happy with this one point because we have one game less and one point more," he told La Liga TV, perhaps with Real Madrid's defeat to Valencia earlier in the day in mind. "There are days you create chances but the opponent withstands them and sits deep, and this was a game like that."

Barcelona boast a four-point lead at La Liga's summit and have a Champions League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday to prepare for.